Under the helm of their American coach Bob Bradley, the Egyptian national team are scheduled to play two friendlies against Botswana and Kenya to prepare for the upcoming 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Bradley agreed to face Botswana on 20 February, then Kenya four days later, before facing the Central African Republic (CAR) in an ACN qualifying match on 29 February.

“Bradley refused to play Tanzania and preferred to face Kenya,” Egypt FA technical manager Fathi Nosier told Ahram Online.

“Egypt’s closed training camp kicks off in mid-February to prepare for the first 2013 ACN qualifier on 29 February,” he added.

According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) official website, the 16 teams that qualified for the 2012 ACN will not participate in the preliminary rounds, but will automatically play in the final round of qualifiers.

If the Pharaohs beat the CAR, they will qualify for the final qualifying round, which will be played in September and October 2012.

The three-time African Cup of Nations champion and record seven-time winner of the continental championship, failed to qualify for the 2012 finals, which will be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.