espnstar.com's very own Asian Football Columnist is in the mood to celebrate - both for Egypt and for himself.

ESPN STAR, do I get a cigar?

Sorry while I attempt to slap myself on the back but I did say just a couple of days ago that this Egypt team was something special and threatened to upset the divine progression of either Italy or Brazil in Group B of the Confederations Cup. And so it has come to pass, the Pharoahs making good on their incredible display against Brazil in their opening match by defeating world champions Italy in their second. What a day for the Confederations Cup. What a day for world football. What a day for Africa.

Not such a great day for the Azzurri, of course, whose much-vaunted defence might as well have been asleep when Mohamed Homos headed past Gianluigi Buffon in the 40th minute, such was their resistance to the corner from Mohamed Aboutreika. What were they doing exactly? Playing cards? Picking nits out of each other's hair? I have no idea. But how Homos could get to the ball, unmarked, with four defenders standing around him is a subject worthy of an inquest by the Italian parliament.

Oh to have been a fly on the wall in the Italian dressing-room at half-time. Marcello Lippi must have, as the Australian saying goes, torn them all new a**holes, because they came out after the break like bats out of hell, desperate to atone for their failure. But Vincenzo Iaquinta and Riccardo Montolivo just couldn't get any joy despite numerous clear chances and the impassable Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary wasn't about to give them a sniff anyway. This was Egyptian football's arrival on the world stage. The party wasn't going to be spoiled with an equaliser - and it wasn't. Despite the crossbar saving El-Hadary late in the game after what was clearly a mishit cross from Iaquinta, the fact of the matter was the Italians simply weren't good enough.

But that hasn't stopped them being predictably ungracious since. This from Gianluca Zambrotta: "We could have easily scored three of four times tonight, if only we had a little more luck on our side." And this from Simone Pepe: "The pitch... wasn't perfect. In fact yesterday we were unable to train because of its problems, and tonight proved that."

Oh dear. Luck. The pitch. How about just outhustled, outmuscled and ultimately outdone by a better team?

Now the Azzurri have the unenviable task of having to beat Brazil to make the semis and might just have half a chance with the Selecao likely to rest some of their key players after clinically dispatching a feeble USA 3-0 in the other match played overnight.

But if there is any justice in this world Egypt will prevail, hammer the USA in the process and take their place among the final four.

Apart from being the most exciting team to watch at the Confederations Cup they've given some real weight to the cause of African football as a whole and shown the world there is real depth of talent outside the usual bread basket of west Africa. If a case is to be made for increasing the Confederation of African Football's World Cup allotment of five places (not including the hosts, South Africa), it is right now.

Europe's 13 is starting to look a little generous.