Egyptian political instability: United States' officials cancel Egyptian football friendly:

Heavily armed and braced for combat: U.S. Marine Corps arriving in Cairo

The United States' national

USA beat Egypt in 2009 Confed. Cup but lost final

soccer team has pulled out of a planned friendly match in Cairo this month due to the political instability in Egypt.

Coach Bob Bradley's side was scheduled to play the six-time African champions on February 9, but will now be without a fixture on that date.

"We were excited about the opportunity to play against Egypt, but due to the current situation all parties agreed it was best to cancel the match," U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati told his federation's website on Monday.

"We appreciate the efforts of the Egyptian Football Association and the U.S. State

Cairo protests against Egypt's President

Department as we worked through this situation."

The match was to be one of a series of friendlies in preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup

to be held in the U.S. in June, which features 12 nations from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Anti-government protesters have been demonstrating for the past week against Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled for

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak addresses the nation

three decades without an election.

The U.S. has sent a team of heavily-armed Marine Corps security personnel to the American
Embassy in Cairo so as to provide additional security for the facility.