Bogota (Colombia), Mar 9 (IANS): Colombia will meet Egypt in an international friendly in Italy during the final stage of preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The president of the Colombian Football Federation, Ramon Jesurun, told reporters on Thursday that the match against Egypt was scheduled for June 1, 13 days before the World Cup begins in Russia, reports Efe news agency.

This will be the third warm-up match for the Colombian football team this year, as the first one will be played on March 23 against France in Paris, and the second one against Australia on March 28 in England.

At the World Cup, Egypt is part of Group A, which also includes Russia, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

The Colombian football team is also due to have another friendly pre-World Cup match in June before travelling to Kazan, where their base camp is located.

Jesurun said that the 2018 World Cup for the Colombian team will begin here, where they will stay for three or four days to play a farewell match.

Then the team will leave for Spain or Italy, where it will stay for about two weeks for the final stage of the preparations, the director said.

Colombia is part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group H, along with Japan, Senegal and Poland.