RECIFE, Brazil -- On a hot and humid tropical evening, Italy sweated out a 4-3 victory over Japan. And by their own account, the Azzurri were fortunate to come out on top. Italy rallied from a two-goal deficit Wednesday to overcome a passionate Japan squad coached by one of their countryman and reach the Confederations Cup semifinals. First-half substitute Sebastian Giovinco scored the winner in the 86th minute of a wild match at the Arena Pernambuco, pounding home a cross from Claudio Marchisio. After a dismal start for the Azzurri that saw Japan score twice in the opening 33 minutes, Daniele De Rossi pulled one back with a header in the 41st, Japan defender Atsuto Uchida scored an own-goal in the 50th and Mario Balotelli converted a penalty in the 52nd to give Italy a 3-2 lead. Japan had taken the lead with a penalty from Keisuke Honda in the 21st. Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa made it 2-0 in the 33rd after a defensive error. Shinji Okazaki later made it 3-3 in the 69th. In all, Japan produced 17 shots, 11 of them on goal and three off the woodwork. "That shows how fortunate we were tonight," Italy goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon said. "We won a match we probably shouldnt have won." Italy put seven of its 12 shots on goal. "They had fewer opportunities but they were better at scoring," Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said. "The difference in international experience was clear." The offensive outburst was surprising considering the stifling conditions. On an evening with intermittent rain, the temperature hovered at 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) but it felt much warmer with the humidity ranging from 75 to 100 per cent. "The climate was incredible," De Rossi said. "This was one of the toughest matches of my career." Italy moved level with Brazil at the top of Group A with six points each. Brazil beat Mexico 2-0 earlier Sunday and has now also advanced courtesy of Italys win. In the final round of group matches, Italy will face host Brazil in Salvador on Saturday and Japan meets Mexico in Belo Horizonte. Buffon suggested that Italy play some reserves against Brazil. "We usually go down to the 90th minute of the third match," he said. "This is one of the few times we have this advantage and we should take advantage of it." Compared to 2009, when Italy was eliminated in the first round of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, this tournament is already a success. "Tonight we really, really struggled," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "We need to deal with the climate, its really difficult. ... But I liked the way we suffered. We could have felt satisfied with ourselves but instead we wanted the win." Making things more difficult for Italy was that most of the fans inside the stadium, which was about three-quarters full with mainly Brazilians, were supporting Japan. For the first half hour, Italy struggled with defensive errors while Japan controlled the majority of the play. "We fell behind 2-0 because we didnt understand what we should have done," Prandelli said. "We didnt have any energy." Zaccheroni, an Italian who took over as coach of Japan three years ago, seemed to know just how to contain Italy. "They ran three times as much as we did," Italy defender Andrea Barzagli said. First, Mattia De Sciglio made a poor backpass to set up Hondas penalty. The pass forced Buffon to tackle Okazaki inside the area. Buffon protested vehemently that it was a clean tackle but Argentine referee Diego Abal thought otherwise and pointed to the penalty spot and showed Buffon a yellow card. Italy also struggled with penalties in its last two matches, allowing Mexico an equalizer in its tournament opener and a late penalty in its 2-2 draw against Haiti in a warm-up game last week. Next, Giorgio Chiellini mistimed a clearing attempt on a bouncing ball inside the area and Kagawa took advantage by firing in an acrobatic strike. The 24-year-old Kagawa is quickly becoming Japans most talented player. In March, he became the first Asian to score a hat trick in the English Premier League when he led United to a 4-0 win over Norwich. Italy didnt really threaten at all until De Rossi scored by meeting a corner from Andrea Pirlo with a textbook header. However, De Rossi will miss Italys next match after picking up his second yellow card in two games. The goal energized Italy and Emanuele Giaccherini nearly levelled the score when his shot hit the post in first-half injury time. The own-goal that made it 2-2 came when Giaccherini attempted to pass to a wide open Balotelli and Uchida intercepted and knocked it into his own net. Italy went ahead 3-2 from Balotellis penalty following a hand ball by Japan captain Makoto Hasebe. Using his usual stutter-step technique, Balotelli easily fooled the Japan goalkeeper and improved to 18 for 18 on penalty kicks in his career, both with clubs and Italy. Okazaki then shocked the Italians when he beat Riccardo Montolivo to a header to make it 3-3. Even after Giovincos goal, Japan refused to give up and got the ball in the net in the 89th only for the goal to be disallowed for offside. Comprar Vans Baratas Online . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Vans Baratas Online . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. http://www.baratasvans.es/ .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Zapatillas Vans Baratas Outlet . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Vans Baratas En España . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Scorecards record what happened. Television shows us how. Commentators and analysts try and get to the why. They throw light on field placements, the set-up and the kind of delivery. We are told that the batsman was in perfect position. Or that he was caught off guard. Each delivery carries a story, and most stories a verdict. Was it a good ball or a bad ball? Was the shot on or was the batsman lucky? Every ball bowled is followed by an outcome. And these outcomes invariably beget a range of judgements.Players tend to see these mini-stories differently. For one, they are armed with more information - on the vagaries of the pitch, on atmospheric conditions, on the state of the ball, on the opposition - all of which makes it harder for them to deal in certainties. There are simply too many permutations for them to juggle.Players are also generally reluctant to see each ball as a discrete event. They understand that a good field setting doesnt become a bad one if a nick flies through a gap; that a terrific spell of bowling can produce a raft of runs and no wickets. They grasp the role of randomness. That on some overcast days the ball wont swing, that on some chilly days it will hoop around like never before. Many players are comfortable accepting that some events are beyond explanation.Which is probably why some of the best cricketers prioritise procedures over results. Opening bowlers can be fastidious about picking the right ball from the set the umpires hand them. Many bowlers have favourite ends. Some love to run upwind. Some obsess over shine, relying on their team-mates to take care of the ball. They are precise about fields. They pay attention to rhythm, to what their body tells them, and to repeating the same routine over and over. The canny ones make minor adjustments to confuse the batsmen. At some point, the stars align. The polish on either sidde of the ball is just right.dddddddddddd. So is the state of the pitch and the dampness in the air. The feet land in the optimal spots on the crease. The fingers grasp the seam at a perfect angle. The wrist cocks. The ball finds a length… and kisses the bats edge. A fielder is alert. A wicket falls. This is no standalone event, yet it is the wicket that is in the scorecard. And often the detail that endures most in memory.Our cover story this month - a chat between former England swing bowler turned cricket writer Derek Pringle and swing bowler turned leading England wicket-taker, James Anderson - deals less with what happened and more with the how. The focus is not so much on Andersons spells and his record haul of wickets; that is enshrined in the record books. Pringle is more interested in exploring the craft of swing bowling - in wobbly seams, in bowling dry, in maximising a helpful pitch, in adjusting to different conditions, and best of all, on sussing out batsmen. The answers are all Andersons, of course, but it is clear that the questions are from an old hand, one who understands the joys and challenges of swinging the ball and getting it to talk.There are more delights in store in the August issue, which also marks the Cricket Monthlys second anniversary. We return to 2004, when Muttiah Muralitharan went out to prove that his action was indeed legit; we rewind to 1992, when Wasim Akram and Co conquered all before them in England; and we head further back to 1976 to assess the grovel series and its subtext. Elsewhere, two writers debate the possibility of cricket being an Olympic sport. And another tells us of the trap that cricket fans routinely fall into: ignoring randomness and probability at each stage of a game. ' ' '