Egypt hails greatest night

By Mark Gleeson

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata and his players hailed Thursday's win over Italy in the Confederations Cup as a proud achievement and have set their sights on the tournament's semi-finals.

"This is a great result," Shehata told Reuters after an emotional night for the Egyptians, whose 1-0 victory over the world champions is their best ever result.

"We had a good game against Brazil technically but the result did not go our way. But this gives us great hope for the semi-finals," he added.

"It was a great feeling, a fantastic victory and we are very proud," said striker Mohamed Zidan, who went off with a hamstring injury and said he was unsure of playing in the final Group B match against the United States Sunday.

"We have realised that we have to stand up together to show some good performances," added Zidan, who scored twice against Brazil in the 4-3 loss in the opening group game Monday.

Defender Wael Gomaa said it was a thrill to beat a team of Italy's quality after a first-half goal by Mohamed Hommos.

"They were very strong with top players from Serie A and we are really happy about the victory. We know we will need to work hard to beat the U.S. and qualify for the next phase."

Gomaa, a long-standing member of Egypt's African Nations Cup-winning teams, added it had been a memorable night for his country.