By Amr Shaheen BBC Sport

Bahraini Transport Minister Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa al-Khalifa presents Egypt captain Hadi Khashaba with the Prime Minister's Cup.

Egypt's preparations for January's Nations Cup finals have continued in encouraging style with the Pharaohs winning a friendly four-team tournament in Bahrain.

The Egyptians won the Prime Minister's Cup after beating Iraq 2-0, thanks to goals in each half from Al Ahly striker Ahmed Bilal.

The Pharaohs maintained their winning streak after having beaten both Kenya and Bahrain 1-0 in their first two games.

Egyptian officials saw the Bahraini event as further opportunity for the Pharaohs to prepare ahead of the 2004 Nations Cup finals.

Yet the number of obligations facing Egypt's international footballers meant none of the Europe-based players joined the Pharaohs in Bahrain due to club engagements.

"Despite the absence of many of our key players, we benefited greatly from taking part in this tournament," Egypt coach Mohsen Saleh told the BBC Sport website.

"It was a good chance to see new players in our squad and winning the title was a huge boost for them."

Egypt's victory in the Prime Minister's Cup follows on from a 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden in November and the decision earlier this month to freeze the country's domestic league in order to give the national team adequate preparation time ahead of the Nations Cup.

The Pharaohs, who are bidding to win a record fifth Nations Cup finals, have been drawn in Group C alongside defending champions Cameroon, 1990 winners Algeria and debutants Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Kenya finished last in the Bahraini tournament after losing 1-0 to Egypt, 2-0 to Iraq and then 2-1 to the hosts in their final game.

The Harambee Stars will be making their first finals appearance since 1992 when they contest Group B with Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali.