HANOVER, June 12 - Ghana became the third African team in three days to show that possession alone counts for little in the World Cup, going down 2-0 to Italy on Monday.

Despite having most of the ball, 53 percent against 47, Ghana fared second best in front of goal.

Although Italy had only four shots more than their opponents, 13 of their 18 efforts were on target. Ghana were accurate with four out of 14.

Following in the footsteps of Ivory Coast and Angola, the Black Stars also seemed to get a touch of stage fright and were indecisive, allowing the Azzurri to take the leading role.

Naivety, particularly in defence, is a description probably used too many times to describe African teams, but it is also a fact.

Another footballing cliche is the one which says a team must take their chances when they come along.

Italy, like Argentina and Portugal had done against Ivory Coast and Angola respectively, did that in clinical fashion.

TWO MISTAKES

"We made two mistakes and conceded two goals. We didn't take our chances and they took theirs," Ghana captain Stephen Appiah told reporters.

Ivory Coast skipper Didier Drogba said much the same after his team's defeat on Saturday.

A 70 percent fit Francesco Totti and his partner Luca Toni proved a potent pair in Italy's attack.

Both were unlucky not to score, with Toni striking the underside of the crossbar.

That incident came before man of the match Andrea Pirlo deservedly grabbed the first goal for the Italians.

On the plus side for Ghana was the performance of Michael Essien.

Like his Chelsea colleague Drogba, the midfielder lived up to his billing.

Much was said before the tournament of his midfield partnership with Appiah and Sulley Muntari.

Essien was the only member of the trio to shine against Italy although he will need to polish up his shooting for the next Group E game against Czech Republic on Saturday.

A great team can often be judged by the players they have on the bench and if Italy's performance is measured by the showing of their substitutes alone, the side will go a long way in this World Cup.

The introduction of their three second-half substitutes seemed to act as a boost, most noteably when Vincenzo Iaquinta came off the bench to notch his first goal for his country.