The United States defeated Italy 1-0 in Genoa, on a Clint Dempsey goal in the 55th minute. Here are five notes on the historic triumph.

• The U.S. beats Italy for the first time in 11 matches. The 10 previous games were the U.S.'s most against any country without a victory. That ignominious honor now falls to Bolivia, which the U.S. has never defeated in six meetings.

• This is the first time the U.S. has beaten a country with a World Cup title in 20 attempts, with the last win over Uruguay in 2002. It's also the first time the U.S. has earned a road point versus any of the eight countries that have won a World Cup.

• With his game-winning strike, Clint Dempsey became the fourth American to score 25 career goals. He breaks a tie with Joe-Max Moore on the U.S.'s all-time scoring list. Dempsey has three goals in the Jurgen Klinsmann era; no other player has more than one.

• Dempsey's 19-yard goal was the second longest of the eight goals in the Klinsmann era. Only Edson Buddle's 31-yard blast against Slovenia was longer.

• Both starting outside backs were heavily involved in the offense. Steve Cherundolo led the team by completing 15 passes in the attacking third, and Fabian Johnson was third with 10. Dempsey had 13 and was the only other player in double digits. Under Klinsmann, Cherundolo and Timmy Chandler share the team lead with 75 passes completed into the final third.