Confederations Cup Liveblog: Egypt-USA

Is this the day the US finally solves its problem up top?

Are you ready for some bloodshed? We feel the same as most of you that US Soccer needs a change at the top and at the manager position. Today may be the day that triggers one of these occurrences. But probably not.

USA, of course, are coming off of back to back red card laden losses against Italy (3-1) and Brazil (3-0). Egypt have been much more impressive, fighting Brazil to the end (4-3) and defeating Italy 1-0 on Thursday. USA are in the woeful position of likely placing 8th in the eight team field, which would happen if the Americans lose today.

But, it's not a total lost cause yet. With at least a three goal win today (and a heavy Italian loss), the US can still move on. Egypt, too, has a lot to play for and can advance by bettering Italy's result. Bigus will be liveblogging the Italy-Brazil match, so join us both in the comments.

USA: Guzan, Bornstein, Onyewu, DeMerit, Spector, Dempsey, Clark, Donovan, Bradley, Davies, Altidore.

Egypt: El Hadari, El Mohamady, Said, Gomaa, Fathi, Abd Rabou, Eid, Shawky, Farag, Abdel-Ghani, Aboutreika.

Guzan gets the unsurprising start in net, while the backline remains the same. Davies, who some like a lot more than I do, also gets the start while Torres continues to pay penance for prank calling Bradley's hotel room after the Costa Rica match.

Here's hoping El Hadary has a howler today to balance out the wonder match he had against Italy. Zidan is a notable absence for Egypt up top. I still know next to nothing about this team, so be on the lookout for my mistakes (and forgive them, it's Fathers Day).

Kick in 15. Bring your vuvuzela.

-5.00 Sign in the stands: "USA ready to loose", held by an Egyptian fan. My response:

Yeah! Take that!

-2.00 Surprise of the tournament so far: no cards for Michael Bradley. He's my call for today's USA red card.

0.00 Kickoff. Here we go.

2.00 Dempsey 8 games without a goal. Roy Hodgson would not allow that.

3.00 Abdelghany with an Egypt shot as DeMerit misplays the ball. Poor start, confidence wise, in the back.

3.00 Within the same minute, another dangerous chance for Egypt. Luckily, there was whiff from six yards out. This could get ugly.

5.00 NYK-Who knows? Maybe he's just dug his heels in and refuses to change. Dempsey's free kick from 30 takes a wicked deflection, but didn't have enough sting to get past El Hadary.

6.00 Rico Clark has a shot deflected out for a corner. El Hadary easily covers Landy's corner. Quick throw out is not controlled well.

8.00 I'd like to see Holden called up.

10.00 Clark is itching for anything. Tries a shot from 22 yards out and 10 yards wide of the goal. Goes twenty yards wide on the far side.

12.00 Dempsey gets called for a foul. Asks the ref what he is calling. Replay bears Deuce out. Free kick results in a scrum in the box. Egypt looked to have a couple of chances to slot it home, but USA scrambles it away. El Hadary gets a good save on the other end while I'm yelling at Harkes.

13.00 Shot was by Bradley. Outstetched hand of El Hadary palmed it away.

16.00 Donovan makes a great run from midfield, getting a diagonal ball from Dempsey. Landy gets past his last man, squares up to the keeper, and passes to no one. He was expecting Jozy to fill in at the back post, but Jozy checked to the penalty spot. A great opportunity lost.

18.00 Ooo-sa with better run of play so far, but Egypt with the better chances. There is some space behind the Egypt defense. The US just has to get there.

20.00 Donovan attempts a lob, it falls about a foot in front of the keeper.

21.00 GOAL Charlie Davies never gives up on a scramble. EL Hadary flops on a low cross, but it squirms free. Davies takes a couple of swipes at it and finally banks it in for the goal. 1-0 USA. BTW, I was about to call for Jozy off at HT, as he looks slow, but his play on the endline made it possible for Davies to get on the ball.

El Hadary's pride is bruised. Bring on the magic spray. Update:El Hadary's pride is bleeding out the top of his head. Kicked by his own player.

24.00 Honestly, he's been down almost three minutes. Get him off.

26.00 Still down. The US really needs this game to restart.

27.00 El Hadary up. Respectful clap given.

28.00 Brazil-Italy going to end at 0-0 if this scoreline holds up. Book it.

29.00 Donovan, playing out on the left today, picks up the ball at midfield, runs at everyone and almost beats El Hadary with one last dribble. He looks energized by having someone else score.

30.00 Fact: Johnnie Spector and Lucas Glover are the same person. Guzan pulls down a nice save off of a weak poke by Abu Trika.

31.00 El Hadary needs treatment again. He took off the wrap. Looks like the ref told him to sit, but he would not. Play goes on.

32.00 There has to be a better option than DeMerit. He's whiffed a couple of times on easy balls today.

35.00 Onyewu lucky to not pick up a "Onyewu PK call" there. Climbed over the back on a cross.

36.00 Deuce gives the ball away in midfield. This usually leads to a goal. Not this time, but close.

38.00 Egypt dove for a PK in the box. Should be a yellow, but no stoppage yet. Brazil up 1-0. Yellow Card Spector booked for, well, not much.

38.00 Egypt shot from 30 clips the top of the crossbar. Guzan late on it.

40.00 If I wanted to watch Brazil-Italy, I'd switch channels. Fuckers. As the US was attacking, no less.

41.00 Once again, Altidore can do nothing while the ball is near him. It's painful to watch and care. Get better, buddy.

42.00 Man, if Egypt counterattacked with any verve, they would be much more dangerous today.

43.00 Brazil score again. Need two more in each match.

44.00 Bradley whistled for a foul. Egypt are divers. They are very good at it, though, it's hard to see at full speed. Brazil up 3-0. That's shocking.

44.00 Is Italy looking to go home?

45.00 Davies catches up to a long ball and fires a left foot shot. Saved by El Hadari. Jozy gets the ball. Loses it.

45.00 Egypt go through if these scorelines hold. USA goes though with a three goal swing.

45.00 Onyewu cuts out a ball that was seeking out an open man on the penalty spot. Nice read of the play by Gooch.

45.00 USA with a couple of good looks in stoppage. Bradley pulls a DMB inside the box and misses out on a chance.

Tweet Tweet TWEEEET Half time. USA all over Egypt at the end. Game has had many swings in momentum. Both teams look good for a goal or two in the 2nd.

I would recommend taking Altidore out at half. Maybe Adu, but I would like Torres better. Push Dempsey up for 15 minutes to play behind Davies and see what he can do. If nothing, sub Dempsey as well.

One other thing--Davies has great speed. If Egypt find themselves having to push up, then look for the former BC Eagle to exploit the holes.

45.01 Here we go. We still need at least two USA goals and another +1 in a swing with Italy. Anyone thing Egypt will park the bus in the 2nd given that they are through at this point?

46.00 Guzan starting to get hairstyling tips from Friedel at Aston Villa as well, it seems.

48.00 Bornstein lucky to not get a card, I think. Yellow Card Bradley. Late. Not much to it.

49.00 Davies with a low cross to Jozy, who lets it run without a touch. Sub Eid off, Hassan on.

50.00 Once again, Hassan takes the armband from El Harady. That's just weird.

51.00 Very close for US. Gooch wins the ball and dribbles up. Passed it off to Dempsey who got clobbered after outletting. Ball runs to Jozy who shoots and deflects off the arm of a defender on the line. Possible PK, but not given.

53.00 I'll say it, since I have the floor. If your arm is away from your body, it should be called. His arm was away from the body and stopped a goal. Even if he knew nothing about it.

54.00 Sub Fathi off, Said on. Fathi got hurt when Deuce was taken out and fell on his leg.

56.00 El Hadary with another nice save from distance on Bradley. Why couldn't he get a concussion when kneed in the back of the head?

58.00 Egypt are doing a lot of standing around on defense. Us not trying too hard to break it down, instead shooting from distance. One good wall pass and this is opened up.

59.00 Gooch is having a beast of a game today. He is single handedly controlling the air in the box.

60.00 Altidore ole's a header. Sub, please.

61.00 Guzan saves an offside shot. He looks a bit like El Hadary on Thursday. Not letting anything past. Final Egyptian sub upcoming.

61.00 Sub Abdelghani hurt, off. Abougrisha on. Egypt out of subs.

63.00 GOAL Michael Bradley slides one home. It was a 1-2 between him and Landy. Let's go, motherfuckers, get another one and go through. 2-0 USA

65.00 Egypt are dead men walking right now. Still getting attacks, but really trying once they get in the final third. This is doable.

67.00 Hassan and Bornstein go head to head in the corner. Stalemate. Followed by another Egyptian offside.

68.00 Altidore sacks up and makes some pretty good moves on the end line. If only he could get the ball there every time.

69.00 Sub Altidore off, Feilhaber on. Deuce or Landy to move up? Looks like Deuce.

70.00 Davies starting to look a little gassed.

71.00 GOAL DEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. 3 fuckin' nil. Hey look, move Dempsey up, let's see what happens. There were a couple of players who could have put that cross home, Deuce did it. El Hadary just lost.

73.00 OOOO-sa. OOO-sa. OOOO-sa

74.00 Well, this is definitely interesting. USA are through at this point, but with 15+ to go, it's not safe here or there. Come on Brazil, don't let Rossi fuck it up for us.

75.00 Egypt attacking with purpose now. Clark butts one out of bounds.

76.00 Ball stuck in the middle. I'll take it.

77.00 Davies dives. No call. Time running.

78.00 Sure is a lot better playing 11 on 11.

80.00 Telling cross smothered by Guzan. No possession for US at this point.

81.00 NOOOOOOO. Not Casey. Do not want.

81.00 Sub Davies off, Conor Casey on.

83.00 Yellow Card Al Muhamedi throws an elbow to the back of Donovan's head.

84.00 Dempsey stays down after a challenge from Gomaa. Elbowed in the back on a header. No call. Looks like 2002 WC Mexico match with the challenges. Who is our Cobi Jones now?

86.00 US controlling more. Casey not so swell. Nervous.

87.00 Deuce has really picked his game up since being moved up. Cross for Casey goes for nought when Casey decides to hide behind his defender.

89.00 Corner for Egypt. Casey does something good and heads it away convincingly. Comes back in and Gomaa has the chance of the match for Egypt. Head it over from 6.

90.00 Other game over. 3-0 Brazil. Corner kick coming. Cleared away. 3 minutes stoppage.

90.00 100 seconds left. Egypt getting close.

90.00 1 minute. Egypt foul. USA looking to salt it away.

90.00 30 secs. El Hadary walks it to midfield and Egypt are offside. Amazing, really, when USA has so many back.

FULL TIME Fucking amazing. US do just what they have to do to go through. Who fancies a Spain-USA liveblog (and a third place match against South Africa)?

Read more on "Confederations Cup Liveblog: Egypt-USA"...

CornfedCup Liveblog: Italy-Egypt

Well, American fans, we have nothing else to look forward to this summer, do we? I mean there's still MLS on, but there's not another meaningful US match until August, just before the European leagues kick off. What to do?

Well, we could always get on the Giuseppe Rossi hate train.

For just $24, you can have a stylish look when you enforce the UF fatwa against the New Jersey native by throwing a pie in his face on camera. Plus, since it's an American Apparel shirt, you can show your love for sexed-up weirdos who run companies that pay a living wage in the US.

Which brings us to today's late match between Egypt and Italy. Theoretically, the US could still qualify for the semifinals with an Egypt win today, a large US win over Egypt and a very large Brazil win over Italy. While no one thinks all of that is possible, the first step happens right now. Welcome to your afternoon liveblog.

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Pregame show? WHHAAAA? What about Mike and Mike?

Italy (4-3-3): Buffon, Grosso, Chiellini, Cannavaro (C), Gattuso, De Rossi, Iaquinta, Rossi, Zambrotta, Pirlo, Quagliarella. Subs: Everyone else

Egypt (5-3-2): El Hadary (C), A. Said, H. Said, Fathi, Abd Rabbou, Zidan, Shawky, Homos, Moawad, Gomaa, Aboutrika. Subs: Yep, they have a lot.

I'm not going to claim to be a master of the Pharaohs' roster, so bear with me.
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-15.00 So, everyone still smarting from this morning? I am.

-5.00 Egypt go defensive to start. Yes, Rossi starts up top for Italy. Can my in jest prediction of that bastard becoming the top goal scorer come true?

-2.00 Nothing controversial about the PK call on Monday. Don't let Tommy Smyth mislead you, Derek.

0.00 Here we go.

1.00 Buffon looking resplendent in all red.
/got nuthin' already

3.00 Pitch looks in horrible shape already. Why is that?

4.00 Oh, thanks Tommy. Rugby is the reason.

4.00 Pirlo takes a shot. No worries.

5.00 Pirlo floats a cross. No worries.

6.00 Rossi with a foul on Shawky in midfield. Smyth gives a bio on Rossi.

8.00 Some creative play in midfield for Egypt leads to a nice pass into the box. Cleared for a corner by Cannavaro. Nothing happens.

9.00 Offside Italy. Egypt immediately give away the free kick and are stretched thin before Italy lose the ball.

12.00 Rossi shoots over from 16. Dangerous chance off of a deflection.

14.00 Egypt work the right flank again. Pass into Zidan leaves him caught up in his own feet.

16.00 Egypt holding their own so far. No real dangerous chances for either side.

18.00 Promising break for Italy goes for nought when the cross is too short for Rossi.

19.00 Cannavaro shows how to man mark on a free kick. Hopefully, Spector was taking notes. Potentially dangerous kick snuffed out by professionalism.

20.00 Fucking vuvuzelas.

22.00 Rossi takes a foul 35 or so yards out. Unsurprisingly, these two sure do like to talk about him. Pirlo tries a shot without the correct direction or any real sting.

24.00 Iaquinta nails a shot from 22, but too close to the keeper. There was a rebound, but no one close from Italy to worry the keeper.

25.00 Rossi again tries from outside the box. Keeper has to turn over the crossbar. Corner Kick, taken, by Rossi, is easily headed out. Not sure if Rossi's original shot was going in, but the save was nice nonetheless.

28.00 Egypt's best attacks so far have been getting behind Grosso. Unfortunately for them, Italy seems to be compensating now and have started to control the match.

29.00 On cue, Egypt string together a couple of passes on the other side and look dangerous. Last ball nowhere close to being productive, though.

31.00 Not a lot to say about this match. Right now, both teams seem more intent on walking around for a bit than trying to attack.

33.00 Quagliarella gets in a good position, but his control off the chest fails him. Gets too close to the end line and lets the ball get tackled out for a corner. Kick taken short and an offside called on the cross in.

34.00 Zidan has pulled something. He'll looks like he will have to come off.

35.00 Grosso looks lost without an Australian leg to fall over. Egypt once again getting behind him with ease. Rest of the Italian defense takes care of biz, though.

37.00 Egypt is extremely well-organized and playing the Italians both ways. Wonder if the US can get their coach?

38.00 Zidan, back on, gets called for offside. Egypt getting their chances here.

40.00 Egypt shoot from 25, Buffon pushes over. Then GOAL. Resultant corner goes to an unmarked HOMOS!!! who heads in off the post. De Rossi the culprit of not marking. 1-0 Egypt

42.00 Must state that Buffon was rooted on the eight yard header. Not a good job by anyone in blue or red on that corner.

44.00 Gattuso leg wraps Shawky. No card. Come on, Ovrebo. We expect more out of you.

Tweet tweet TWEEEEEET Halftime. Italy has now been behind 1-0 in both of their games so far. Does that mean anything, other than you should take Brazil for the first half on Sunday?

What I have seen so far: Egypt like to work the wings, while remaining solid at the back. Italy, despite having three up top, seem to have no numerical advantage while attacking. Italy have also been fond of the long ball, while Egypt are working short and doing it better than the Azzuri. Italy would do well to sub in a MF for a forward (prob Quags) and employ a second wave effect to the attack from midfield. Egypt have to not sit back and try to defend a one goal lead. See you in 10 or so.

45.01 We're back. No subs noticed.

46.00 Italy look dangerous from the start. Good movement. Maybe they care this half?

48.00 Ha Ha. Gattuso lost his pants. Shorts, for you Brits.

48.00 Moawad languishing on the ground after getting stomped on the ankle by Gattuso.

51.00 More hoofing it long and down the middle for Italy. De Rossi then shoots well over from 30 yards. Great gameplan, guys.

53.00 I have the volume down, and that's the second time I've heard Smyth say "The snarling dog doesn't snarl much anymore" in reference to Gattuso. Get this man a coffin!

54.00 Iaquinta beats the offside trap but fails at the one on one. Great chance lost, even if Iaquinta used his arm to control.

56.00 Zidan off. Ahmed Eid on. OK.

57.00 Sixth Italian corner goes way long. Cannavaro went up for the header but it was three feet over his head. Italian subs: Rossi, Gattuso off; Montolivo, Toni on.

58.00 Yellow Card Eid, just on, rugby tackles Cannavaro.

60.00 Egypt have a 2 on 1 break, but the last pass was slow enough so that Italian defenders can catch up.

62.00 Egypt still showing well. Advancing forward but not giving up chances on the other end. Italy look bored/tired. Montolivo hacked down by Shawky, who got the ball. Pirlo to shoot from 30. Just wide. He had the keeper beat.

64.00 Italy's last sub: Pepe on for Quags. Egyptian down forever. Carted off.

67.00 Corner kick for Egypt. Derek Rae wants to #banvuvuzelas. Kick short, ball lost.

68.00 Pepe with a good ball. Toni and Iaquinta flap at it and miss. Egypt sub: Moawad off, Farag on.

70.00 Egypt may have held long enough to start getting some productive counters as Italy press. Iaquinta saved well from in close. Pepe the catalyst here for Italy.

71.00 Maybe I should watch Udinese more. This Pepe kid has some fire.

73.00 Pepe again on the right. Gets fouled twice, but no call.

74.00 This is the worst fast break weave I have ever seen.

What a Save! Montolivo with the open shot from 14 yards. Placed well, but the keeper was up to the task.

75.00 15 minutes left and we are all Homos now.

76.00 Abu Trika should have scored.

79.00 Another goal line save! Iaquinta this time. Ball just palmed enough to stop the momentum from going over the line. Great, great stuff from the Egyptian captain.

80.00 Hassan in for Egypt for Fathi. Last of the subs.

Italy will score here, I feel. It's coming soon.

81.00 El Hadary for MotM, right? Except for repeatedly outkicking the coverage on the punts, that is.

83.00 I don't think I've ever seen a guy coming on get the captain's armband without the previous captain going off. Odd.

Egypt waste a chance. Abu Trika wouldn't pull the trigger.

84.00 "Egypt 1, The United Sates nil." Thanks, Derek Rae.

Apparently we do start one down Matt. Sucks.

86.00 Another break on the right for Egypt. They got nuthin'.

87.00 Give that man the armband back! El Hadary thanks the crossbar as the keeper watched Iaquinta's shot go over his head.

89.00 Handball 20 yards out. Great chance for Italy. Gomaa(?) called for the arm. Pirlo to take. FIELD GOAL! Way over.

90.00 Five minutes added on. Ouch, but fair.

90.00 El Hadary playing with the ball a little. Homos looks on.

90.00 Three minutes left. Nervy.

90.00 Corner kick. Yellow Cards to el Hadary for arguing, and one to Gomaa as well. Hansen comes through.

90.00 Buffon came up for that. Ball cleared and put back in. Italy offside.

90.00 One minute left.

90.00 Toni dives.

90.00 Time up. Blow the whistle.

FULL TIME Holy shit, the US is still alive. Homos is your goal scorer, El Hadary is your MotM on the pitch, and Hassan Shehata is the best coach on earth.

Read more on "CornfedCup Liveblog: Italy-Egypt"...

Confederations Cup Liveblog: Brazil v. Egypt

Yeah, I was watching old movies yesterday

On paper, you'd think you'd be able to guess the final score simply by looking at the countries involved, but this is the Confederations Cup, a largely meaningless tournament that serves only to clog up the summer vacation plans of some of the world's greatest players.

The Egyptians don't care, but will Robinho and co. emerge with a chip on their shoulder at losing precious nightclub trips, or will they settle under Dunga's watchful/boring eye and score at will?

I'm not actually prepared to call a result one way or another as I think there could be room for an upset, but I will liveblog the shit out of it as we go.

Fair compromise?


9.45am: I'm sitting with a large plate full of leftover lasagna, a glass of port, and a wicked inclination to shun liveblogging in favor of watching The Conversation. Whatever happened to Gene Hackman, anyways? He had a great run back in the day. You've got The French Connection, Scarecrow with a young, insane Al Pacino, I Never Sang for My Father, Hoosiers... is it true he hasn't done a movie since 2004? Insane, I tell you.

Popeye Doyle can wait, as we have the Confederations Cup.

9.51am: He retired? How did I miss that? Oh well... back to the task at hand.

We have squads!

Also, is no-one else covering this tournament? No liveblogs at the BBC, and the Guardian doesn't even have it listed in its "Live Scores and Fixtures" section. That said, we Brits are like that; if we didn't qualify, it doesn't exist.

9.55am:
BRAZIL STARTING LINEUP
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Julio Cesar - Dani Alves, Lucio (c), Juan, Kleber - Elano, Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo - Kaka - Robinho - Luis Fabiano
BENCH: Maicon, Victor, Luisao, Miranda, A Santos, Ramires, J Baptista, Kleberson, Pato, Nilmar, Gomes, Josue.

EGYPT STARTING LINEUPS
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El Hadary - Hani Said - A Fathi, Moawad, Ahmed Said, Wael Gomaa - Hosni, Shawky, Hassan (c), Abo Terika - Zidan
BENCH: Fathalla, Elmohamedi, Khairi, Eid, Homos, Tawfik, Farag, Wahid, Abdelghani, Abo Grisha, Raouf, Sobhi.

1 min: Brazil try to get forward early, but Wael Gomaa wasn't gonna let Luis Fabiano get on the end of Dani Alves' long pass forward.

Also, a Howard Webb sighting! Look for controversial penalties galore!

4 mins: Patchy beginnings as the Selecao look to settle. Kaka fouled Fathi early.

5 mins: GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL... and those vuvuzelas continue to bore a hole in my brain. Lovely, composed finish from Kaka after Alves floated the ball into the middle for Real's new superstar. He touched it past two defenders who weren't very interested in defending, and then sidefooted it under El Hadary for a simple goal. Brazil 1, Egypt 0

Just the start Dunga will have wanted. The passing from Brazil is as casual as it would be if it were on the training pitch thus far.

8 mins: Better from Egypt.... GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and Brazil show why they suck at defending. Abo Terika was freed down the right wing (where the fuck was Felipe Melo tracking back), his cross was gorgeous right across the six-yard box, and Mohamed Zidan rises from the Bloemfontein soil to bury the ball past Julio Cesar. Lucio appeared glued to the turf. Lovely finish, and game on. Brazil 1, Egypt 1

11 mins: GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and I picked the right game to liveblog. Elano has a free-kick from 40-odd yards out wide on the right, he drills a decent ball into the crowded penalty area, and Luis Fabiano does phenomenally well to leap and guide the ball into the bottom left-hand corner. The goalie almost got a finger on it, but it was Gomaa's fault in letting his man get behind him. Brazil 2, Egypt 1

This was definitely worth getting up for. If you're looking for something to do with that misplaced energy of yours, get on Twitter and help #banvuvuzelas become a trending topic. Those things need to be burned at the cross.

13 mins: Gomaa does his job this time, blocking out Fabiano from reaching the left-wing cross.

Are those the dulcet tones of Robbie Mustoe I hear in the commentary box? It is some wonderful irony that one of the game's most boring, uncharismatic players is getting to describe a Brazil match to the masses. He appears to be awed by the flair on display.

17 mins: Felipe Melo, the "young" guy from Fiorentina, does well down the left to get his cross blocked out for a throw-in.

18 mins: I wish The Big Lead would stop pretending on Twitter like they give a damn about the Confederations Cup. Is that you, Ty Duffy? Are you penning those insightful missives?

Egypt knock it around in the middle of the park, biding their time for an equalizer. Based on the utter nonchalance for the Selecao at the back, there will be chances.

As I write it, Abo Terika switches wings to the right and skips to the touchline, winning a corner as Elano blocks it out for a corner. They waste it, and Brazil counter with Kaka who jogs all the way into the Egyptian area before losing possession himself. It was Boro man Mo Shawky who tracked back to aid his beleaguered defense.

21 mins: Of course, while we're all enjoying some live footy with our Corn Flakes, you're all thinking ahead to USA-Italy. Bigus Dickus will be liveblogging that one having returned from a brief trip back to Blighty. Thoughts on that one? USA really has no chance, do they?

23 mins: Brazil knock it about at the back in an Arsenal-esque fashion. Tons of room in the midfield for sideways passing, too. Egypt cough up a corner as Hani Said toe-pokes the ball off Robinho's foot, and then Juan should really have scored from the set piece; Elano's outswinger found him unmarked as Said went for a smoke break behind the goal, but he guided his header over the bar and into the throng of photographers behind the awning. Good chance wasted there.

Meanwhile, Howard Webb watches Kaka get manhandled by Fathi and awards a tasty free-kick on the edge of the box. All 11 Brazilian players line up to take it...

25 mins: I kid of course, but Elano's number is called and he bangs it right into El Hadary's arms.

Is the Egypt team nickname really The Pharaohs? Wouldn't that be a little derogatory? I mean, so many other things have come from Egypt beyond just Tutankamun. Or am I being too sensitive?

Good-ish chance for Egypt! Zidan has space at the top of the box, and his diagonal ball for Abo Terika juuuuust misses his forward run. Worth repeating: Brazil are rubbish at the back.

29 mins: The style is on display. I think I saw a backheel! Some nice interplay in the middle breaks down when Robinho gives the ball away at the top of the box.

30 mins: Fathi shows why right backs shouldn't be allowed to shoot very often, as his lazy run down the flank culminates in a rubbish daisy-cutter that ends up a mile wide. His teammate Hassan then emulates that with a soft low shot from 20+ yards that Julio Cesar collapses upon.

32 mins: What Would Amr Zaki do?

33 mins: Abo Terika, take a knee. Your twisty-turny dance in the box just cost you a scoring chance. Lucio was the only man back to defend after a speculative ball forward that the Egyptian was able to chase and collect, but instead of shooting, he kept stepping over until help in yellow and green arrived. Silly, really. Shoot first time! Still, the pair up-front in red/white are proving to be quite a handful. Which is more than can be said for Robinho, who is rather quiet thus far.

35 mins: Finally eating that lasagna I talked about earlier. Luis Fabiano tries to elude Gomaa on a run into the box, but the Brazilian throws too much weight into it and Webb whistles for a foul. Nevermind, as he was playing advantage for Hassan's late lunge on Kaka. Free-kick to Brazil, 30-odd yards out just to the right of goal. Dani Alves to take...

... and a brilliant save by El Hadari! Alves goes for goal, and it swerves and dips out of the South African sky, forcing a diving tip over the bar. Corner to Brazil...

37 mins: GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and if you thought Egypt were the Brazil of North Africa, you'd be mistaken. Based on the way they defend set pieces, they're more like Newcastle on the Nile.

Elano's corner is swung right into the danger area yet again (he's good with a dead ball, you know), and with the help of awful defending by Hosni, Juan gets to the ball first and powers his header through El Hadari's hands. Dunga's lot don't really deserve a two-goal lead, but you take what you can get. Brazil 3, Egypt 1

41 mins: If you had Egyptian captain Hassan in the "Who Will Hit One Into Row ZZ" Sweepstakes, come down to collect your prize. He steps forward from 25 yards and sends the ball higher and higher, baby... it's a living thing (synths)

42 mins: Note to Egypt: get the ball to Abo Terika more. He's your best hope, realistically. Does well in switching flanks and trying to get round the back of the Brazilian backline... plus he's the only one who can get the ball to Zidan.

44 mins: We're in that pre-halftime lull, no doubt inspired by the drunken bumblebee sound of those fucking vuvuzelas. Surely of all the concerns about WC 2010 in South Africa, those blasted plastic noisemakers are top of the list. Seriously.

One minute of stoppage time forthcoming. Egypt decide to use it to knock the ball around dangerously at the back under pressure.

45 mins + 1: So close! Hassan and Moawad link up well on the left, and once Moawad gets round the back, his cross is perfect for Hosni, who blazes a header just over the bar.

And that'll do it.

HALF TIME: Brazil 3, Egypt 1
Rece Davis and Lalas in the ESPN studio? No thanks -- off to finish this lasagna and refuel the port wine glass before the 2nd half. All joking aside, a good first half. The Selecao look comfortable, but they're leaving the door open for their opponents to come at them. That Brazilian backline is not very good.

Back! Sorry for the delay -- my son (2 weeks old on Wednesday) woke up and decided he was hungry.

50 mins: A Said committed a foul on someone, but the free kick was wasted.

Sub time for Egypt, and it's not who you'd expect: captain Ahmed Hassan is off, replaced by Ahmed Eid.

52 mins: If Egypt want to make a game of it, they need to start pouring players forward. Their attack is too piecemeal at the moment. Fathi gets wide down the right and tries to cross, but the backline holds. Eid then demonstrates his eagerness to the cause, dribbling into traffic at the edge of the box and losing the ball for a goal kick. Fine work, sub.

54 mins: GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and clearly the Egyptian manager is reading my liveblog. They surge forward with four or five in support of Abo Terika's initial run down the left. He steps inside and squares for Mo Shawky (Boro's finest!) and he drills it low under Julio Cesar from the edge of the box. Brazil 3, Egypt 2

And then...

GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and Egypt complete the comeback. The Brazilian defense opened wide, inviting Mohammed Zidan to beat the offside trap and finish emphatically under Cesar. Terrible, awful, ghastly defending, but wonderful attacking power by the red/whites. Dunga is apoplectic on the sideline, the veins in his neck bulging through his turtleneck sweater and suede jacket. Poor man. You need to find players who can defend worth a toss. This is reminding me of what might happen at the Bernabeu next season... Brazil 3, Egypt 3

PS. I told you in the preamble that this had upset potential!

58 mins: Brazil try to counter, but Kaka's cross-field run takes him away from goal and Hani Said is there to mop up his attempted backheel pass to Robinho. Then Juan gives up a needless corner. Abo Terika to take. It's short, and Gilberto Silva is there to knock it away.

60 mins: Kaka attempts to score #4 all by himself, receiving the ball back from Robinho around halfway and then sprinting at the Egyptian defense full-on, but of course he's not that good, and Hani Said survives to defend another day.

The game has woken up suddenly; that's what two goals in 45 seconds will do.

Luis Fabiano wins a corner off Gomaa, and I reckon Brazil will score again. Egypt are rubbish at defending corners... Dunga prepares a sub, and Elano gallops over to take the dead ball...

... Almost! The ball missed everyone and dropped to Lucio at the back post, but he couldn't control it with his left foot and the ball is cleared. Egypt look to counter, as Zidan finds Moawad wide left.

62 mins: Eid chops down Robinho, who's been absolutely rubbish thus far, and Precious Roy lust object Pato prepares to come on.

SUBS FOR BRAZIL: Ramires and Pato on, the Citeh pair Elano and Robinho off. One of them played well and took several good corners, the other just kinda jogged around a bit.

Wake up, commenters! This game is a thriller now. Both teams attacking and obviously not content with a point from this one.

65 mins: Hey look -- 65 minutes in and no Bangles references from ANYONE.

Fathi floats in a nice cross to the back post, but Shawky can't leap high enough under pressure from Dani Alves to get on the end of it. As Robbie Mustoe correctly asserts, Egypt are finding tons of room in the midfield. Gilberto Silva is invisible.

Seconds later, Alves puts a lovely ball to the back post, and Luis Fabiano, in front of his marker Gomaa, puts nary a touch on it. Goal kick Egypt. There are more goals in this one. I can feel it.

Dunga, perhaps unaware he's already used two subs, warms up four more subs on the sideline. Is gamesmanship really that necessary in the Confederations Cup that he needs to confuse the Egyptian coach as to his final sub choice?

68 mins: Pato sighting! He chases down the loose ball on the right wing, turns, cuts all the way back inside, runs across goal towards the left wing, marked the entire time by several red shirts, and shoots into Hani Said's legs. Well played, Duck.

No further tweets from The Big Lead? Did Ty Duffy fall asleep in his soup?

70 mins: Alves' production is rather good right now, but his teammates continue to waste it. It's Pato's turn, getting a head on another right-wing cross but drifting it over the bar. The midfield is wide open at the moment.

72 mins: Calling it right now: the USA/Italy game will not even come close to this level of excitement and tension.

Abo Terika gets by Dani Alves, but the right-back recovers and puts in his requisite 10-seconds-of-defending-per-game to snuff out the danger.

73 mins: Coulda been something! The first opportunity for a contentious decision today ends rather inanely, as Zidan is correctly flagged for a marginal offside and is robbed of his hat-trick. I mean, you know Julio Cesar wasn't saving that. Of the 5 or so shots on goal today, 3 of 'em went in.

CORRECTION: Egypt have had 4 shots on goal, scoring from 3. Nice conversion rate, that.

Sub for Egypt: Hosni off, Al Muhamadi on. Not sure what position #3 plays, but he's on to do a job in the final 15 minutes.

77 mins: Close for Brazil! Pato feeds Kaka on the edge of the box, and the #10 chests it down onto his right foot, volleying it narrowly over the bar with El Hadary beaten.

Another great chance for Brazil! Ramires runs right up the middle, taking advantage of some shaky defending by Hani Said to get on the end of a throughball. Said does just enough to get back and impede the sub's run, and then Ramires follows through with a boot into El Hadary's nuts that Webb whistles up for a foul.

Best goal of today THUS FAR: Shawky's. Fo' shaw'.

81 mins: Eid jinks inside from the right and fires a good low shot, but Julio Cesar is equal to it.

Lucio cuts out a low cross for an Egypt corner. Abo Terika puts it too far out and the chance is gone. From the clearance, Fathi pops up on the left wing and cuts in. His shot screeeeeeams over the bar with Julio Cesar at full stretch.

Final sub for Brazil: Andre Santos on, Kleber off... the sub wins his 1st cap for the national team. Good for him. Shame his team is bottling it right now.

85 mins: Luis Fabiano hopes that no-one sees him handle the ball to control it... but nothing gets past Howard Webb!

So close again for Brazil! Kaka gets through the middle and seems certain to seal the deal, were it not for a brilliant sliding tackle by Said to deny him with the goal at his mercy. Lovely last-ditch defending. Carragher-esque in its desperation and execution.

88 mins: Dani Alves ghosts past Moawad on the right flank, getting an ankle tackle for his efforts. Moawad goes in the book, and Alves has a free-kick wide right. Perfect for him...

... CONTENTIOUS DECISION ALERT! And the Selecao swarm around Howard Webb like Chelsea in the Champions League. Alves' free-kick floats to the back post, Lucio volleys for goal, and Elmohamedi handles it on the line to stop it going in. ElMohamedi is sent off, and Kaka readies to take the penalty...

... GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, as Kaka coolly slots the penalty under El Hadary's dive to the right. Goalie guessed correctly but it was perfectly placed. Full credit to the Selecao for keeping the pressure on late as Egypt appeared happy with the draw. Brazil 4, Egypt 3

Four Minutes of Stoppage Time to come! Will there be more drama?

And yes, as you are noting in the comments, Webb got it right. Elmohamedi didn't do a good job of hiding his crime on the line.

90 mins + 3: Not much happening in the added time, until Eid cuts in again from the right and fires on goal. Cesar spilled it, but no Egyptian players there to take advantage.

FULL TIME: Brazil 4, Egypt 3
Based on how the two sides played the final half-hour, this result was deserved. Brazil showed more attacking prowess in the dying embers of the game, and rightly got their reward. An excellent game, and a lot for the US and Azzurri to live up to this afternoon. Come back for Bigus and that one!

Read more on "Confederations Cup Liveblog: Brazil v. Egypt"...

Confederations Cup Profiles: Egypt

Egypt are the 2-time defending champions of the African Cup of Nations, a tournament that they have won a record 6 times. The Pharaohs were also the first African nation to make an appearance in the World Cup (1934), and have twice played for the bronze medal at the Olympics (1928 and 1964). However, this is only their 2nd journey to the Confederations Cup, having gone out in the first round on a 0-2-1 record in 1999.



Currently sporting a FIFA ranking of 40, Egypt find themselves in the Group of Death (Group B) for the Confederations Cup. They open their tournament with a match against Brazil on June 15th at Bloemfontein, followed by a tilt with Italy on June 18th in Johannesburg and the USA on June 21st in Rustenberg.

While the assumption is that Brazil and Italy will advance to the semi-finals, The Pharaohs still represent Africa's best chance at winning the Confederations Cup for the first time. They had been in fine form recently, until their last 2 World Cup Qualifiers, a 1-1 draw at home against Zambia and a discouraging 3-1 loss away to Algeria.

Gaffer Hassan She-Hate-Me Shehata has a 23-man roster that features 5 guys named Mohamed, 8 guys named Ahmed, and 0 guys named Mido. This is not all that surprising considering previous quarrels between the 2 men (Mido was famously thrown out of the 2006 African Cup of Nations by Shehata after the former remonstrated his substitution), but many have argued that pairing the Latics (on loan from Boro) striker with Zaki presented the best chance of winning. Considering that Mido was also left off the roster for the match against Algeria (for "tactical" reasons), these individuals may have a point. Given that only 4 players on the current roster play for a club outside of Africa, it would certainly seem that having Mido on the pitch would be beneficial.

Regardless of the reasons for Mido's absence, the roster for the current competition is as follows:

GK: Essam El Hadary (Sion - Swiss Super League); Wahid; Mohamed Sobhi

DEF: Mahmoud Fathalla; Ahmed Said; Ahmed Khairy; Hani Said; Ahmed Farag; Ahmed Hassan; Ahmed Ahbdelghany

MID: Ahmed Al Muhamadi; Ahmed Fathi; Hosni Abd Rabbou; Ahmed Eid; Mohamed Shawky (Boro - EPL); Mohamed Homos; Abdelaziz Tawfik; Sayed Moawad; Amr Zaki (Wigan - EPL)

ST: Mohamed Zidan (Borussia Dortmund - Bundesliga); Wael Gomaa; Raouf; Mohamed Aboutrika


For a team that failed to qualify for World Cup 2006 in Germany, a few respectable results at the Confederations Cup may be just what they need to build momentum for a successful bid to World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Sitting in 4th in Group C after 2 matches for World Cup qualifying, The Pharaohs need to show the world why they should still be considered the most powerful nation of African football.

Read more on "Confederations Cup Profiles: Egypt"...