Rio de Janeiro, Feb 20 (IANS) Brazil to play Egypt in a friendly, a week before FIFA World Cup 2026 begins, in June as both teams finalise their preparations for the mega event, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said.

The match will be played at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on June 6, five days before the start of football’s showpiece tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Brazil will play its last home pre-World Cup warmup a week earlier with a friendly against Panama at the Maracana Stadium on May 31.

Five-time world champion Brazil will begin its Group C campaign against Morocco on June 13 before facing Haiti on June 19 and Scotland on June 24.

To conclude the preparation phase, the Brazilian national team will face the oldest African team and one of the most successful on the continent.

The most successful team in FIFA World Cup history, with five titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002), Brazil is the only national team to have participated in every edition of the tournament and seeks to extend its dominance by winning its sixth title.

Egypt is the most successful team in the Africa Cup of Nations, with seven titles, and has participated in three FIFA World Cups, being the first African and Middle Eastern team to play in the tournament, in 1934 in Italy.

Egypt will start the FIFA World Cup campaign against Belgium on June 15 and will also face New Zealand on June 21 and Iran on June 26 in Group G.

The North African team will look to reaffirm its status as one of the greatest powers on the African continent and in the Arab world, with millions of fans dreaming of a historic campaign.

They rely on the talent and leadership of star player Mohamed Salah, as well as a squad that combines experience and youth, with names like Omar Marmoush, Mahmoud Trézéguet, and Mostafa Mohamed.

There have been six matches since 1960 between Brazil and Egypt, with Brazil winning all six. The most important was on June 15, 2009, during that year’s Confederations Cup in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The Brazilians won 4-3, with goals from Kaká (2), Luís Fabiano, and Juan. The other matches were friendlies, the last one in 2011.

–IANS

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