Egypt's national soccer team coach Shawky Gharib (Photo: AP)
Egypt’s national team will start its training camp Monday night amid preparations for the 2015 African Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifiers.
According to the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) website, the Pharaohs will play a friendly match against Kenya on Saturday.
The squad’s 18 local-based players will be the only ones present for Saturday’s match, with foreign-based players arriving a day later on Sunday.
Head coach Shawky Gharib – who won the CAN three times in a row (2006, 2008 and 2010) as an assistant to coach Hassan Shehata – is bidding for a return to the championship in Morocco, after the team missed the last two editions in 2012 and 2013 under American manager Bob Bradley.
In the 2015 CAN qualifiers, Egypt will play in Group G alongside Tunisia, Senegal and Botswana. They are scheduled to be hosted by the Senegalese team on 5 September in the qualifiers opener.
Last week, Gharib called up 12 foreign-based players to join the squad, including Chelsea's Mohamed Salah and Hull City winger Ahmed Elmohamady.
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