Brazil Survive Egyptian Scare; Italians Overtake Team USA

Group B play in the FIFA Confederations Cup commenced in South Africa on Monday:

At Bloemfontein:

Goals from Kaka at 5 minutes and the game winner at 88 minutes on a successful penalty kick (photographed by Laurence Griffiths for Getty Images) enabled Brazil to capture a 4-3 goalfest against Egypt.

The Egyptians were not happy about the developments regarding the awarding of the penalty kick to Brazil and have lodged a protest.

At Pretoria:

After trail 1-0 at halftime (thanks to Landon Donovan's successful penalty kick at 41 minutes), Italy scored three times in the second half to overtake the ten-man United States 3-1. Giuseppe Rossi---yes, New Jersey-born Guiseppe Rossi, scored twice (58', 90'+4) for the Azzurri, while Daniele De Rossi scored the winning goal at 71 minutes. The two Italian goalscorers are shown celebrating in this photo by Kim Ludbrook for the European Pressphoto Agency.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. Italy (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Brazil (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Egypt (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. United States (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)

The United States and Egypt may have the toughest road to hoe in this tournament. By the time the two teams meet this coming Sunday, one or both could already have been eliminated, while Iraq, South Africa, and--even after being belted 5-0 on Sunday by Spain---New Zealand all have a legitimate shot at advancing to the semifinal round from Group A.