Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has announced that his team will play three friendlies before the start of next year's Africa Cup of Nations. The three matches will be played in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, the first game on December 22 against Malawi in Durban. Bafana will then travel to Cape Town Stadium where they will face Norway on January 8, before Igesund announces his final squad for the AFCON tournament on home soil. The final friendly will take place at the Orlando Stadium with the South Africans facing off against Algeria on January 12. Igesund also confirmed that his focus will now be on trimming the squad down to 23 players for the African showpiece kicking off on January 19. "The league has been really exciting which means now my job is becoming very tough. The squad I have of 35 has to be cut down," he said on Tuesday. "After the game against Malawi, our preparations will really begin."