The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire will take on the Pharaohs of Egypt in a friendly game today in Abu Dhabi, UAE after the Egyptians had declined an encounter with Ethiopia.
Cote d’Ivoire, led by Didier Drogba and Manchester City star Yaya Toure, are on a training camp in the UAE capital ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations holding in South Africa.
Cote d’Ivoire are in Group D alongside Togo, Tunisia and Algeria, while Egypt are not featuring in this year’s edition after crashing out in the qualifiers last year.
Meanwhile, the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia will face Tunisia in a build-up match on Monday.
Ethiopia silenced Niger 1-0 in their previous friendly and a win against Tunisia will be a major boost to the side ahead of the tournament.
The team which was earlier this week trimmed to 23 players will face the North Africa side in Doha before they fly out to Qatar.
Dereje Alemu (Sebeta city), Aklilu Ayenew (Dedebit) and striker Abdul Wali Aman (Washington University) were dropped from the final squad.
The sole representatives from East Africa overpowered rivals Sudan last year to book a ticket to the prestigious tournament.