Even though there are ongoing public demonstrations in several Brazilian cities, the Brazilian national team managed to beat the circumstances and difficult conditions in the country to win the Confederations cup with ease. The reasons behind these demonstrations are mainly because next year the country will be hosting the World Cup that will cost billions of dollars while at the same time their nation is suffering from a sudden Increases in bus, train and metro fares in some major cities; multiple issues regarding infrastructure, education and health care among other public services; several reports of abuse of special benefits conceded to Brazilian politicians and the high cost of living in general while investing billions funding major sports events including the World Cup. Brazilian legends Pele and Ronaldo came out supporting the demonstrations and stated that the people have got every right to demand good living conditions as long as they're not causing any damage. The demands of the nation are basically an increase of government efforts and funds to improve key services including public education, national health care and transport infrastructure altogether and improvements in public transport with less cost to the population. The admirable part about the triumph of the national side is the ability of nearly the whole population to demonstrate every day while watching the matches of their national team during the demonstrations. The statistics stated that only nine per cent of the population did not watch the matches of their national side. The stat is simply incredible given that the demonstrations were held in nearly every single city in Brazil all day every day for more than three weeks now. All tickets of their matches were sold out one month before the tournament and at the same time the demonstrations did not stop for a single day throughout the competition. The Brazilian players led by their mega star Neymar and team captain Thiago Silva all voiced their support for the population and said they would do anything to win the tournament and dedicate it to their loyal fans that never stopped supporting them. Every time a Brazilian player scored a goal in the tournament he went to celebrate with the fans to show their support to the whole population and their demands. Brazil defeated world champions Spain in the final in a one-sided encounter that Brazil totally controlled from the first minute until the last. The game which ended 3-0 for the Brazilians showed what this nation is all about as they fought the difficult conditions their country is living to triumph on their home soil and dedicate the title to the whole nation. Thiago Silva stated after the final that half the prize money given to the players for winning the tournament will be given to charity organisations in Brazil. Neymar was chosen player of the tournament while Fred and Torres both scooped the top scorers award with five goals each. Unfortunately, not many Egyptians were able to watch the final of the tournament as they were out in the streets fighting for their own demands and rights against the current regime. The Brazilian story is really worth giving attention to as it shows the strength and determination of a whole nation to achieve a certain target without giving up on another. Unfortunately, the Egyptian national U-20 side couldn't do a Brazil and draw a smile on the faces of the Egyptian people as the team was disappointingly knocked out of the World Cup from the group stages. Regrettably, complacency was the main reason behind the elimination of our young national team as the players looked off colour and defended pathetically. They started their World Cup dream against Chile and lost 2-1 after surrendering an easy win that was truly in their hands. We took the lead in the 10th minute through the super talented Mahmoud Abdel-Monem “Kahraba” after an incredible through ball from Rio Ave's striker Ahmed Hassan Kouka. Instead of giving them a push to add more goals, the early lead seemed to backfire as the players played with undesirable over-confidence and missed several key chances that could have sealed the win until we conceded the equaliser 15 minutes after our opener. For the rest of the first half and the opening 20 minutes of the second half the Egyptian players and Kahraba specifically missed more than four clear cut chances only to concede another goal 12 minutes from time to lose a game that we should have won with ease. On the other hand, Iraq and England drew 2-2 in the other game of the group to keep the opportunities available for everyone. Egypt entered their second game of the group against Iraq knowing they must win to keep their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages alive. Star of the team Ahmed Hassan Kouka gave the Egyptians the lead in the 27th minute via a magnificent header after an inviting cross from Osama Ibrahim. However, yet again the backline defended awfully as we conceded eight minutes later from a shot just outside the box with no pressure imposed on Ammar who shot comfortably. From that point until the end of the game the Egyptian national team seemed lost and unorganised. The Iraqi side clinched a winner 11 minutes from time as Asian young player of the year Mohanad Abdel- Reheem dazzled through our defence and finished in an empty net to knock practically knock Egypt out of the World Cup. After that game, players started to blame each other for the disappointing performances and the head Coach Rabie Yassin declared that complacency was the main reason behind elimination as some of the players already thought they're superstars after their African triumph Yassin didn't start with Saleh Gomaa (best player in the African Cup of Nations) in the first game against Chile after saying that Gomaa was not in form lately which showed. Gomaa looked simply awful in his 20-minute cameo against Chile and for 80 minutes against Iraq. Even the Iraqi coach Hakeem Shaker stated after the game that he was surprised by the poor performance of Gomaa in the game. Going into the third and final game of the group stages, Egypt needed to win by a three-goal margin over England to qualify as one of the best four third placed teams. Prior to the game, it looked impossible to accomplish such a result against the English side that needed a win to qualify but surprisingly Egypt came close to achieving their target as they defeated England 2-0. The score may flatter Egyptian fans but those who saw the game won't be too impressed as our national team played dreadfully until the last 15 minutes of the game in which we scored our two goals. The English players missed a host of chances throughout the game and could have won comfortably if they managed to score half of these chances thanks to the impressive Mosaad Awad who made save after save. The Egyptian side came to life in the last 15 minutes and managed to take the lead with a goal of the tournament contender through Ahli player Trezeguet with a sublime piece of skill to beat a defender before side footing the ball into the far corner admirably. The goal that came in the 80th minute seemed to destroy the confidence of the English players and Egypt took control of the game for the remaining time until we added another goal in the last minute through the magnificent Ahmed Hassan Kouka with a wonderful finish into the far corner. Unfortunately, there was no time to add a third goal but at least we managed to leave the completion with pride restored. Two Egyptian players shone and two disappointed in the tournament: Ahmed Hassan Kouka: Incredible assist for Kahraba in the first game followed by two amazing goals against Iraq and England is a very decent return for the 19-year-old who is set to take the Portuguese league by storm next year. Mosaad Awad: The Ismaili goalkeeper who is set to move to Ahli was slightly responsible for Iraqi's first goal but still looked in great form in the three games as he made a total of 19 saves. Saleh Gomaa: Spent trials at Dortmund and Frankfurt prior to the World Cup and was expected to carry his incredible form shown at the African Cup of Nations to the World Cup but that was not the case. The talented playmaker did not show the form that made him one of the hottest properties in African football as he looked off form in terms of both technique and fitness. Ramie Rabea: Captain of the side wasn't particularly disappointing but was not his usual self either. He looked slow and tired during games and stated after the second game that he was playing while not being fully fit after returning from a knee injury only weeks before the World Cup started.
