Egypt coach Bob Bradley said he is excited to face Chile in a friendly game as the Pharaohs prepare for a World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe in March.

The seven-time African champions take on Chile in Madrid on Wednesday for their third meeting in history, the last being a friendly game in 1989 when Egypt claimed a 2-0 victory.

“We always get excited before this kind of games, Chile is a good team with big players like (Barcelona forward Alexis) Sanchez and (Juventus midfielder Arturo) Vidal ... we're excited,” the American boss said on Tuesday.

“When we play good teams we get a chance to asses our pros and cons and that's good.”

Egypt, who suffered from lack of domestic action due to a one-year league stoppage in the wake of last year’s Port Said disaster, produced two below-par displays in their recent friendlies, slumping to a 3-0 defeat by Ghana before squandering their lead to lose 4-2 to the Ivory Coast.

However, they may take heart from the resumption of the premier domestic competition, which went ahead on Saturday despite security concerns in a country still struggling to restore order, two years after a popular uprising toppled autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak.

“I watched the last two matches (against Ghana and Ivory Coast) around 40 times, I still see good things, and things to work on,” Bradley added.

“It's good to work with the complete group because the last time we did was a long time ago. We will keep watching the league, adding new players to our squad will depend on how they play, but we can't give guarantees.”

Bradley is tasked with ending Egypt’s long World Cup drought as they have failed to qualify for the football’s most prestigious event since 1990.

They top their group in the qualifiers with six points from two games, three ahead of second-placed Guinea. Zimbabwe and Mozambique have one point apiece.

Egypt next host Zimbabwe in Cairo next month.

“We're trying to set up a friendly with an African team before Zimbabwe game but the name of the team hasn't been finalised yet,” the former United States boss added.

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