Kwesi Appiah is in confident mood as he lines up his Ghana team for their first match for the year against Egypt on Thursday in preparation towards this month's Africa Cup of Nations. The Black Stars will meet the Pharaohs in Abu Dhabi in the first of two arranged friendlies - next game is against Tunisia on Sunday - for the team. The match will kick off at 9pm local time (1700 GMT). Appiah believes that Ghana are playing two perfect friendlies before the Nations Cup starts this month as he takes charge of his first match in the New Year. The first game against Egypt, seven-time Nations Cup winners who failed to make this year's finals will give Kwesi Appiah a great chance to look at the squad in action for the first time since Ghana started preparations at the Zayed Sport City complex Saturday morning. And it comes a day after he named his final team for the tournament in South Africa. The match with the Pharaohs will be Ghana's first meeting since the north Africans beat the Black Stars 1-0 in the final of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. Both sides have met 20 times in the past in both official and friendly matches with the Pharaohs winning 10 of the matches. Ghana have beaten Egypt five times with five matches ending in draws.