Egypt to face Burundi, Malawi in friendly matches

One of Nigeria’s challengers in the race for the Gabon 2017 African Nations Cup, Egypt, have finalized arrangements for international tune up games against Burundi and Malawi next week and early June respectively.

According to one of the North African country’s websites, ahram.org.eg, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) yesterday announced that the Pharaohs “technical staff have chosen to play two friendly matches against Burundi and Malawi on May 12 and June 8 respectively.”

“Argentine Coach, Hector Cuper, has rejected offers to play against Sierra Leone, Djibouti, Uzbekistan, Australia or Syria, choosing to face Burundi and Malawi for the appropriate dates that were available.

“There could be new contacts with these teams to arrange friendly matches next July or August,” the statement added.

Egypt, which hold the record as seven times African Nations Cup winners, are in Group G of the 2017 qualifiers along with Nigeria, Tanzania and Chad.

They will kick-off their bid to reach the Gabon finals on June 14 against Tanzania.

According to the EFA, Egypt, managed by Cuper, will also hold two training camps, one between June 18 and 21 and another between July 7 and 14.

Cuper’s first challenge will be to bounce back into Africa’s football elite after three failed attempts in a row, though the ultimate aim is to achieve the long-held dream of qualifying for the World Cup, a moment Egyptians haven’t experienced since 1990.