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Egypt will face Equatorial Guinea in a friendly game on 28 March as part of their preparations for the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced on Thursday.

The match will be played in Dubai after the refusal of Egyptian security to host the game in Egypt.

It will be the first test for Pharaohs’ new boss Hector Cuper who was named as Egypt’s coach earlier this week.

The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are set to start in June, followed by the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in October.

The first challenge will be to bounce back into Africa’s football elite after three failed attempts in a row at qualifying for the Africa Cup.