Egypt will face Copa America winners Brazil, world champions Italy and the United States in Group B of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The six-time African champions avoided the prospect of playing European champions Spain, who were drawn in Group A. Spain will meet tournament hosts South Africa, Asian Cup holders Iraq and New Zealand. Egypt will begin their campaign against Brazil on June 15th before taking on Italy three days later. They will conclude their group stage matches against the United States on June 21st. Egypt have demonstrated their superiority in the Dark Continent, winning back-to-back Nations Cup titles in 2006 and 2008. They will be looking to build on their African achievements to make up for their disastrous Confederations Cup debut in 1999. In the tournament that was held in Mexico, Egypt failed to make it beyond the first round after finishing bottom of Group A.
They also suffered a stunning 5-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in the last group stage game. Previous Meetings Egypt met five-time world champions Brazil in four friendlies between 1960 and 1963. The matches took place in Cairo and Alexandria. Egypt lost all of them. Egypt met Brazil for the fifth time in the 1964 Olympic Games, drawing 1-1. The Pharaohs faced Italy on four occasions – 1920, 1928, 1953 and 1954. The Azzurri won those matches by big margins, including an 11-3 drubbing of Egypt. Egypt played the United States three times in 1984, 1987 and 1999. The first match ended in a 1-1 draw, Egypt won the second 3-1 and the United States won the third 4-3.
