By Amr Shaheen BBC Sport, Cairo

The forthcoming friendlies have delighted Egypt coach Moshen Saleh

Egypt's Pharaohs are to play a number of friendlies over the next few months in preparation for next January's Nations Cup finals in Tunisia.

National team manager Salah Hosny said that Egypt's first warm-up game will be against Senegal on 11 October.

Hosny also revealed that the national team will play two friendlies in November against European sides Italy and Sweden, although exact dates have yet to be confirmed.

Other games that have been organised for the 1998 Nations Cup winners include matches against Mali, Benin and Kenya scheduled for the period between 8 January and 15 January - just days before the Nations Cup begins on January 24.

The Egyptian FA is still to confirm where these games will be played.

Nonetheless, Egypt's national coach Mohsen Saleh is delighted by the forthcoming friendly against Kenya's Harambee Stars.

"I believe that playing against Kenya will be a very good chance for us since they play very similar football to Zimbabwe's," Saleh explained.

The Pharaohs open their Nations Cup campaign against Zimbabwe in Sfax on 25 January.

Egypt had previously been scheduled to play a friendly against Cameroon but the match was cancelled when both countries were paired in the same group at last month's Nations Cup draw.