Egypt players were stolen during the Italy game

A number of Egyptian players discovered that they were stolen during the Italy game, the first to steal money from the rooms in which they reside in a hotel "Brrutia", Johannesburg, during their presence in the stadium, "Ellis Park," to run the game, which was achieved by the team to beat the Italian world champion (1 - zero) in the Confederations Cup.

According to German news agency (DPA) that officials of the Egyptian mission had informed the police in Johannesburg, where the police came to the hotel and edited minutes of the robbery incident and investigations are underway to determine the size of the amounts stolen and that they confirmed the players large sums.

The police are trying to find the thieves as soon as possible to restore the stolen funds to the players.

This is the first case of theft against players from various teams participating in the tournament hosted by South Africa is currently at 28 June.

Egypt Beats World Cup Champions Italy, Enjoys New High

In one of the most surprising upsets in the history of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, African champions Egypt beat 2006 World Champions Italy 1-0 Thursday in Johannesburg.

Not so much a surprise if you take into consideration Egypt's spectacular performance against Brazil in the first round, one that pushed them to the limits until extra time at which point the score had remained at 3-3. Brazil's winning goal came from a rightful penalty that nonetheless left commentators calling the Samba win "a steal," especially given that Egypt was the overall better team on the night.

Against Italy, Egypt's accolade extends beyond the winning result; the Pharoah's performance outmatched the Azzurri in every aspect of the match: passing, defending, marking, and ball retention.

Abou Treika, who shined in midfield just as he had done against Brazil, provided the assist through a well-taken corner kick that was headed home by Egyptian national team rookie, Homos. (Abou Treika had had two assists, both to Zidan, in the match against Brazil.)

Egypt's goal came early in the game, and despite many close opportunities for both sides and a whopping five minutes added on as extra time, Egypt managed to retain its composure and even outplay the Italians, ensuring that the match ended in a historic result for African football.

But it was not just Egyptians and Africans who were celebrating. ESPN commentator and former US national team captain, Alexi Lalas, remarked: "even though I do not have any stake in Egypt and don't know any Egyptians, I feel proud."

"Egypt is my new favorite team," he said earlier in the broadcast.

Egypt's brand of play at the tournament has been widely lauded as being true to the Joga Bonito, or the beautiful game, a phrase widely used by football fans and analysts to describe passionate, technically sound, and fair play, with a bit of flair.

Egypt started the match with a sense of entitlement after throwing away what seemed to be a definite draw against Brazil. The cohesion exhibited by the players as they stood in a close circle before the starting whistle, reciting the fatiha prayer, continued throughout the match. Indeed, their's was a classic textbook display of the concept of teamwork.

Egypt's goalkeeper, Essam El-Hadary, who was terrific all day, is likely to nab the Budweiser Man of the Match award; Abou Treika would be a close second. Homos, the only goal scorer of the match, is also in contention.

As for the game's other likely stars, Egypt's Mohamed Zidan limped off after pulling his calf, leaving Egypt with its only disappointment of the game. Italy's Rossi and Pirlo who had delivered against the US were largely neutralized by a well distributed and confident Egyptian team.

Ironically, the US, who are Egypt's third and last match of the group, have been kept alive despite a 3-0 thrashing suffered at the hands of Brazil, thanks only to Egypt's win against Italy.

Given its team's current performance level, Egypt will be favorites going into the game on Sunday and have more than an even chance of edging Italy out to join Brazil and Spain in the Semi-finals.

Either way, Egypt's win against Italy and its superior performance on the pitch throughout the game will surely unleash joyous celebrations all over Egypt and much of Africa. Moreover, Egypt, who has enjoyed dominance on the African continent since forever, should have finally put itself on the global map despite years of World Cup elusiveness. It can now be said that the African champions can mix it with the world's best.

Congratulations to Egypt, and to fans of the beautiful game everywhere.

Egypt hail historic victory

Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata and his players hailed Thursday's win over Italy in the FIFA Confederations Cup as a proud achievement and have set their sights on the tournament's semi-finals.

"This is a great result," Shehata told Reuters after an emotional night for the Egyptians, whose 1-0 victory over the world champions is their best ever result. "We had a good game against Brazil technically but the result did not go our way. But this gives us great hope for the semi-finals," he added.

"It was a great feeling, a fantastic victory and we are very proud," said striker Mohamed Zidan, who went off with a hamstring injury and said he was unsure of playing in the final Group B match against USA on Sunday. "We have realised that we have to stand up together to show some good performances," added Zidan, who scored twice against Brazil in the 4-3 loss in the opening group game on Monday.

Defender Wael Gomaa said it was a thrill to beat a team of Italy's quality after a first-half goal by Mohamed Hommos. "They were very strong with top players from Serie A and we are really happy about the victory. We know we will need to work hard to beat the United States and qualify for the next phase."

Gomaa, a long-standing member of Egypt's CAF African Cup of Nations-winning teams, added it had been a memorable night for his country. Egypt had lost all four previous encounters with Italy, who had never before been beaten by African opponents in 14 previous matches.

Winger Ahmed Fathi, who had a brief spell at English club Sheffield United, said of the Italians: "They are a big team but all our players gave a lot of effort on the pitch. The Americans will be difficult but we have to win it to go through."

All four sides in Group B can still reach the last four. Brazil are top with six points, followed by Italy and Egypt on three each. The United States have lost their two matches but could still go through if Brazil beat Italy in Pretoria on Sunday and the Americans win handsomely against the African champions.

Shocks and style on century day

On the day that the FIFA Confederations Cup racked up a century of games, there were contrasting fortunes for two of the giants of world football. Brazil made sure of a semi-final spot with victory over USA in Tshwane/Pretoria, while Italy suffered their first-ever defeat against African opposition when they lost to Egypt by a single goal in Johannesburg.

The 100th game of this tournament witnessed one of the most surprising results in its history, as Hassan Shehata's side defeated the world champions, thanks to Mohamed Homos' 40th-minute header. It was only the second time in the history of the competition that an African side had defeated a European one, the last being in 2003 when Cameroon defeated Turkey.

The FIFA Confederations Cup began life on 15 October 1992 and back then, just as today, USA were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline. Seventeen years ago, it was Saudi Arabia who inflicted the defeat, but today Brazil provided the punishment. Goals from Felipe Melo, Robinho and Maicon secured the straightforward victory for the Seleção in a game they controlled from start to finish.

Results
USA 0-3 Brazil
Egypt 1-0 Italy

Goal of the day
Maicon, 62': Although there were four contenders to choose from today, the full-back's finish was the pick of the bunch. The Budweiser Man of the Match began the move on the right flank and rounded it off in style. Beating two players, he found Ramires, who played the ball to Kaka. The former FIFA World Player of the Year found Maicon on the overlap, who fired the ball past Tim Howard into the roof of the net from the tightest of angles. It may have taken a deflection off Jonathan Bornstein, but the Inter Milan man deserves all the credit.

Memorable moments
Who's the daddy? (84'): As South Africa gears up to celebrate Father's Day on Sunday, Robinho decided to turn the tables around by sending a special greeting to his son. After his goal, the Manchester City forward ran to the cameras to send Robson Junior a special message in an impromptu pitch-side interview. Following the game, he told the media: "I dedicate all my goals to him. He was a present from God."

El Hadary vs. Iaquinta (54', 70' and 78'): Before the game Essam El Hadary was probably expecting a busy night against Italy, but he probably would not have expected to play such a key role in an Egyptian victory. Although he pulled off a stunning save to deny Giuseppe Rossi in the first half, it was the second-half duel between the FC Sion goalkeeper and the Juventus forward which proved to be the most enthralling. Twice Iaquinta was presented with a one-on-one opportunity with El Hadary; twice the keeper saved. Then, Egypt's No1 produced a stunning low stop when the striker turned and shot inside the box.

The stat
13 - It's considered to be ‘unlucky for some' and it certainly was for USA. Thirteen indicates the number of seconds between Landon Donovan's corner, DaMarcus Beasley's mistake, Andre Santos's interception, Kaka's run and Robinho's finish.

For a more in-depth statistical look at the day's action, be sure to read FIFA.com's ‘Day 4 in numbers' piece. Click on the link on the right hand side for the full story.

In the crowd
When the Egyptian fan who made the banner saying ‘Sorry Italy - Try Next Time' he was probably feeling a little optimistic. When he brought it to Ellis Park Stadium, he might have been feeling a little foolish and when he was pictured waving it in front of the television cameras, he may have even been feeling a little embarrassed. Yet, it proved to be time and money well spent as the Egyptians secured a famous victory against Marcello Lippi's men.

Fan's view
"This is a big wake up call for Italy. They need to call up the younger players for the World Cup next year," LarsisStoked, writing in the FanChat section of the EMIRATES MatchCast during the Egypt-Italy game.

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