Egypt were the better side but still failed to hold five-time world champions Brazil to a remarkable draw after committing silly mistakes in set pieces during Monday's thrilling Confederations Cup game. Egyptians expected the worst before the game after seeing their nation suffer a shocking 3-1 defeat to Algeria in the World Cup qualifiers last week. Some people started making jokes about how many goals the Pharaohs would concede in the tournament's opener against Brazil, who approached the game in the best possible way after claiming two successive wins over Uruguay and Paraguay in the World Cup qualifiers. But Egypt's free-flowing football stunned The Selecao and made it very difficult for them to put their trademark swift moves into effect. "This is the true spirit of Egyptian players," goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari said after the match. "I want to thank all my teammates for producing such a great display. All of them were brilliant." Kaka struck after five minutes to give Brazil an early lead following a defensive lapse but lively forward Mohamed Zidan leveled the score four minutes later with a close-range header. Egypt defenders relatively managed to contain Brazil forwards Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano and Elano in open play. But in set pieces this wasn't the case. Poor Marking Poor marking in free-kicks not only helped Brazil restore their lead, but also gave them a barely deserved two-goal cushion.
Fabiano cut ahead of Egypt defender Wael Gomaa to head home Elano's pinpoint cross from a right-wing free kick on 12 minutes. Seven minutes before the break, a similar move saw AS Roma defender Juan escape his marker Hosni Abd-Rabou to power a fine header past Al-Hadari, whose desperate effort to block the ball went in vain. "Most of Brazil's goals came through set-pieces. Apart from that, our team had the upper hand," Egypt skipper Ahmed Hassan said. It wasn't the first time Egypt concede such goals. In last week's defeat to Algeria, Abdelkader Ghezzal scored the second for the Desert Foxes when he rose unmarked to connect with a free kick and find the net with a neat header. The Pharaohs managed to stage a remarkable comeback against Brazil to restore parity, thanks to two quick-fire goals from Zidan and Mohamed Shawky. But their failure to defend set-pieces came to haunt them once again in the dying minutes. A cross from a free kick fell into the path of the unmarked Alexandre Pato, whose shot was cleared off the line by Ahmed Al-Muhammadi's hands as referee Howard Webb pointed to the spot. Kaka converted the ensuing penalty to give Brazil all three points and make Egypt's faults clear to their head coach Hassan Shehata. Shehata should teach his players how to deploy a perfect man-marking strategy whenever a free-kick on either flank is awarded to their opponents, before Egypt meet World Cup winners Italy on Thursday.
