Italian coach Marcello Lippi talks to reporters on Wednesday. (Antonio Calanni/Associated Press)It hardly comes as a surprise that Italy and Brazil are one win away from booking their places in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
The Italians meet Egypt in Johannesburg on Thursday (CBCSports.ca, 2 p.m. ET) while the Brazilians meet the United States in Pretoria (CBC Bold, CBCSports.ca, 9:55 a.m. ET) with a place in the final four at stake for the two perennial soccer powerhouses.
But neither Italy, the reigning World Cup holders, nor South American champions Brazil are taking victory for granted, not after they both looked far from impressive in their respective opening games of the tournament.
The Brazilians needed an injury-time penalty from Kaka to secure a 4-3 win over Egypt on Monday while Italy had to come from behind to earn a 3-1 victory over the United States, who played the majority of the game with only 10 men after midfielder Ricardo Clark earned a red card.
Italian coach Marcello Lippi, who said he plans to make several changes to his starting lineup against the Americans, heaped praise on Egypt and said he expects a tough outing against the African champions.
"It is going to be another really tough match, considering how they played against Brazil," Lippi told reporters. "I know their team well, and I really like the way their coach handles his team."
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro is expected to return in central defence after missing the opener because of a calf injury, but Lippi was tight-lipped about Giuseppe Rossi, the New Jersey-born forward who came off the bench to score a pair of second-half goals against the Americans.
"You don't think I'm aware of what they're worth?" Lippi bristled when asked whether he has the courage to start the 22-year-old Rossi.
"You don't think I know who Giuseppe Rossi is? I called him up a year ago from the under-21 team.
"He is the only player that has creativeness and fantasy in attack, and I put him on at the right time. But that doesn't mean that now he is going to play all the time."
Egypt coach Hassan Shehata said he was pleased that his team pushed Brazil to the limit and that it gives his players confidence going into the game against Italy
"We thank God for this result, but we have to be reasonable," Shehata said. "After all, we lost the match. Even so, we will gain motivation and all players believe now that there is no impossible in football."
'This match should come as a warning'
As for Brazil, they're still bemoaning the fact that they conceded a pair of goals early in the second half to let Egypt back into the game and tie the score 3-3.
"There is no doubt that this match should come as a warning," midfielder Gilberto Silva said. "I don't remember Brazil allowing two goals in one minute, and it's been a long time since we allowed three goals in a match.
"It should be a warning for all of us so it doesn't happen again."
Like Egypt, the U.S. would be eliminated from contention with a loss against Brazil, but coach Bob Bradley isn't too worried.
"We've given examples of situations where teams won the first game and maybe started thinking too far ahead and ultimately paid the price," Bradley said. "We've seen examples of teams that lost the first game and still understood there are two more games to advance.
"The way our group is looking, a point in this game may not be enough, so you take the game as it comes. But certainly, the idea is to play and find the three points."
With files from The Associated Press