Egypt stunned Italy 1-0 with a header by Mohamed Homos yesterday, leaving the world champions with an uphill battle to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals.
The African champions easily neutralised Italy's revamped forward line and surprised the World Cup holders in the 40th minute when Homos outjumped Daniele De Rossi and beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with a header off the inside of the post.
The goal left the two teams level with three points in Group B, with Italy facing Brazil in the last group match while Egypt play the United States, who lost their first two games but still have a chance to advance.
Three crucial second-half saves
Apart from Homos, Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary made three crucial second-half saves on Vincenzo Iaquinta to clinch the only upset of the tournament so far.
Iaquinta was unlucky in the 86th minute when his floating shot had finally beaten the goalkeeper but bounced back into play off the bar.
After Egypt lost only 4-3 on a last-minute penalty to Brazil in the opener, they again proved what a solid team they are, playing well above their 40th place in the FIFA rankings.
And the pro-Egypt crowd of 52,150 at Ellis Park roared with delight as the upset came closer.
As Italy kept on pushing forward, Egypt were smart enough not to entrench themselves and remained dangerous on the counter until the end.
Redesigned his entire attack
Italy coach Marcello Lippi had redesigned his entire attack, putting American-born Giuseppe Rossi at centre forward after scoring two goals as a substitute against the Americans in a 3-1 come-from-behind win. The Villarreal striker looked sluggish until he was replaced by Luca Toni in the 58th minute.
Egypt, however, were also not that impressive up front.
With Fabio Cannavaro back at the heart of the defence after missing the opener with a right calf injury, he was well in control most of the time. The Italy captain made his 125th appearance and needs only two more to break Paolo Maldini's Azzurri record of 126 caps.
Like Rossi, Egypt forward Mohamed Zidan also followed up his two-goal opener with a near-invisible performance and was replaced in the 57th minute.