Egypt will be hosting rivals Libya behind closed doors in Alexandria on 8 October in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers, the Egyptian Football Association EFA) announced on Saturday.
Egypt has been holding all football games in the absence of audiences in the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The new technical staff, headed by Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, were hoping to see fans in the home game against Libya, but the EFA's final decision was not in their favour.
Libya will host the Pharaohs three days later in Benghazi in the fourth round of the qualifiers.
Egypt are currently in second place in Group F with four points after defeating Angola 1-0 in the first round and equalising with Gabon 1-1 in the second round.
Meanwhile, Libya are leading the group with six points after defeating both Gabon 2-1 and Angola 1-0.
The EFA revealed earlier that the national team will be playing a friendly against Liberia on 30 September at Borg El-Arab Stadium, which will be Queiroz's first outing as Egypt’s coach.
In early September Queiroz was hired after the sacking of coach Hossam El-Badry following severe criticism of the national team’s performance in the early games against Angola and Gabon World Cup qualifiers.
On Sunday, Queiroz called up nine foreign-based players for the two upcoming Libya games, including Liverpool star winger Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s midfielder Mohamed El-Neny.
The Portuguese coach said the final squad for the Libya double test will be announced on 26 September before starting a closed camp on 28 September.
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