Reigning World Cup football champion Italy is set to meet five-time champion Brazil Sunday night (2:30pm ET) in Pretoria, South Africa at the eight-nation FIFA Confederations Cup. In the other final Group B match, the U.S. Soccer Team plays Egypt in nearby Rustenburg (also 2:30pm ET).
Brazil has already clinched a semi-final berth after wins over Egypt and the United States, so the pressure is clearly on Italy which was upset by Egypt, 1-0, on Thursday. Italy opened with a win over the USA, so it has three points, as does Egypt.
With zero points, the only way for the United States to sneak into the semi-finals would be on goal difference, which would take a lopsided win over Egypt and a big win by Brazil over Italy.
U.S. coach Bob Bradley told VOA Sports how the game against Egypt must be played under the circumstances. "There has to be more of an urgency to attack, but as always at this level it can't be a crazy attempt either, because if you go forward in a way where you leave yourselves wide open, teams can punish you," he said.
The Americans will have little chance if they play shorthanded, as they have their previous two games because of red card ejections. Against Italy, they were a man down for two-thirds of the game, and, against Brazil, they played 10 versus 11 for the last third of the match.
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