The Egypt national team's Argentine coach, Hector Cuper, has decided not to recall Ahly and Zamalek players for next month's friendly against Malawi, which is part of their preparations for the 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The Pharaohs will face Malawi on 8 June, after canceling the friendly against Burundi this May due to security reasons.

"Cuper decided not to call Ahly and Zamalek players for the Malawi friendly due to the two sides' participation in the CAF Confederation Cup," Egypt team director Alaa Abdel-Aziz told a local television programme.

Ahly and Zamalek are scheduled to play the second leg games of the CAF Confederation Cup round of 16 on 7 June, one day before the Malawi match.

"The Egypt coach will make use of the foreign players as well as other domestic teams' players during the friendly against Malawi," he added.

Egypt, who have won seven AFCON trophies, have been drawn 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 14 June against Tanzania.

Egypt, under new boss Cuper, will hold two training camps, one from 18 to 21 June and another between 7 and 14 July.

Cuper's first challenge will be to bring the team back into Africa's football elite after three failed attempts in a row, although the ultimate aim is to achieve the long-held dream of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1990. 

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