After an impressive opening game in which they ran Brazil ragged before going down on a last-minute controversial penalty, Egypt hope to play just as well when they face defending World Cup champions Italy later today. Inas Mazhar reports from South Africa Despite losing 4-3 to Brazil in the Confederations Cup, the Egyptians go against Italy today, 18 June, in high spirits after having made the impossible possible. They might have lost three points but not before gaining the world's respect and admiration. Against Brazil, five-time world champions and twice Confederations Cup winners, Egypt were rank outsiders. But on Monday, in Bloemfontein, the South African city of roses, they gave the Brazilians a run for their money, giving Brazilian coach Donga what was arguably one of his toughest tests. Egypt made Africa proud. African federation president Eissa Hayatou could be seen jumping for joy after Egypt tied 3-3; in the stands the South Africans shouted 'Viva Egypt'; the local press said Kaka had saved the day for Brazil; and Egypt's Mohamed Zidan was named the man of the match. FIFA online described Egypt as courageous in their exhilarating Group B opener at Free State Stadium. Dunga's side carried a two-goal cushion at the break, but a quick-fire double had the Pharaohs level until Kaka, the former FIFA World Player of the Year, saved Brazil's blushes in injury time. It took Brazil just five minutes to get on the score sheet. There appeared to be little danger when Daniel Alves's dink found Kaka inside a congested penalty area, but the No 10 subtly tricked his way past two opponents before casually sliding the ball home. Egypt responded swiftly, with Mohamed Abou Treika's right-wing cross being headed in by Mohamed Zidan, but they fell behind again on 12 minutes when Luis Fabiano's head guided an Elano free-kick into the bottom corner of the net. Elano and Juan both came close to doubling Brazil's lead, before the latter did just that by heading home the former's corner in the 37th minute. Egypt refused to submit to their more illustrious opponents, though, and scored twice in two minutes to restore parity, Mohamed Shawki's firm, low drive from the edge of the box preceding a 55th- minute strike from Zidan. Both sides then had their chances, but the game appeared destined for a 3-3 draw. That was until goal-bound Lucio's effort was handled on the line by Ahmed El-Muhammadi. The Egyptian defender was sent off, and Kaka coolly slotted the penalty into the bottom corner of Essam El-Hadari's net to ensure Dunga's side made a winning start to the defence of their crown. Kaka's penalty was the game-winner and a highly controversial goal. Egypt protested to FIFA, claiming the decision was given only after the illegal use of television replays. FIFA rejected the complaint. Egypt had conceded the validity of the goal but said English referee Howard Webb was only able to make the decision concerning the winning penalty after the fourth official watched a replay of the incident. Referees are allowed to consult with their assistants, but the use of television replays is not sanctioned by FIFA. El-Muhammadi blocked Lucio's goal-bound effort on the line with his upper arm but then rolled about on the ground as though injured in the head. Webb first appeared to be holding up play to let the substitute get treated but then showed him the red card and signaled a penalty. The sending off came after a replay of the incident was beamed on monitors and the giant screen at Free State Stadium. "This is not in the FIFA regulations. I have played many matches as a player and a coach, in Olympic Games and World Cups and FIFA never takes a decision based on TV replays," said the assistant coach Shawki Gharieb. "If this is the case why does FIFA ban the replay of some situations on TV screens in the stadiums?" Gharieb added. "As far as I am aware there is no rule allowing video evidence. "We're not contesting the referee's decision but the way it was made. Or maybe the rules have changed and nobody has told us. "The decision was changed after a statement by the fourth official, after watching the monitor, that it should be a penalty." "We just need a fair decision for a fair result. That's all we want. We are not talking about the penalty itself and not discussing whether it is right or wrong," said Mahmoud Taher, the head of Egypt's delegation. "For the first time in the history of FIFA a decision has been taken based on TV replays of a situation in a game," said EFA president Samir Zaher. FIFA said it had analysed the decision by going through all the evidence at its disposal, including the referee's match report, as well as the additional statement that Webb provided at FIFA's request. "A thorough analysis of the aforementioned documents revealed that the decision in question was achieved through teamwork between the match referee and his assistant Mike Mullarkey, who confirmed the offence to the referee from his viewing angle," FIFA said. Dunga wasn't complaining after the late goal spared him some of the barbs the Brazilian media would have sent him had his team failed to overcome a side 35 places lower in the FIFA world rankings. "I think that in some moments it's important to have a contribution [from the fourth official] like this," Dunga told AP. "And I think the referee saw that there was no mark on the player's face, so he must have used his hands." So the goal and score stood. But that did not detract from the Egyptian performance. "Before the match we said we were aware of the Brazilian team and we know there are differences in history and technique," Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata said. "Brazil are also more experienced. They are used to playing in World Cups and in the Confederations Cup. Egypt has only made two appearances in the World Cup and one at the Confederations Cup. For my team it is actually the first. But we wanted to show the world we still have good quality football and the incentive to play a good match. "Honestly, we never expected a victory or a draw but we wanted to enjoy the game and do our best, to prove that we deserve to be the African champions of the past editions and I'm proud of my team. Let's hope we maintain the same spirit and style. We want to make a lasting impression here," Shehata said. "We played two very demanding South American World Cup qualifiers (against Uruguay and Paraguay) before we came out here and all we did in the training sessions for the Egypt match was to try and get the players back into shape," Dunga told a press conference after the game. "We almost paid for the lack of rhythm today. It wasn't easy getting those three points and what pleased me most about today was the fact that we kept going till the end, trying to score the winner." "We might not have made a very good start but I thought that overall the team did really well today. Actually, I think we deserved a point," MVP Zidan said. "This game proved to everyone that Egypt is not in the Confederations Cup just to make up the numbers," confirmed team captain Ahmed Hassan. "We showed some real fight and put in a spectacular performance despite losing out in the end. The next game against Italy promises to be very tough, maybe even more so than the Brazil match. We'll be going out there determined to perform at the same level." "It could have been a lot easier for us but Egypt deserve a lot of credit for fighting back in the second half. We maybe lost our composure for a few minutes there but the most important thing was that we won," Brazilian forward Robinho said. The 2007 player of the world Kaka believes Brazil deserved the goal at the end for all their excellent play in the first half and above all for the commitment they showed throughout the game. "I've got used to taking important penalties over the last few seasons at Milan so I didn't think twice about taking this one. We expected it to be a very tough opening match and we're very happy to leave here having got the job done in what is a very tight group. We've got the three points we wanted and now we're in a position to reach the semi-finals."
