TUNIS - Tunisia will play World Cup friendlies against Costa Rica and Iran next month and are heading to the Swiss Alps in May for their final preparations before the finals, the Tunisian Football Federation said on Friday.

Tunisia host Iran in Tunis on March 23 and then take on Costa Rica in Nice, France four days later.

Tunisia's squad will gather in Verbier for an 11-day training camp from May 28-June 5, including two more friendly matches, before departing for Russia for their final warm-up game against Spain in Krasdonar on June 9, the federation said.

Plans for a training camp for locally based players this month and next have been cancelled after several national team members were sold by their Tunisian clubs to Europe in the January transfer window and are no longer available for the camps.

The north Africans are participating at their fifth World Cup finals and start their Group G campaign against England in Volvograd on June 18. They also have Belgium and Panama in their opening round group.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty) ((mark.gleeson@thomsonreuters.com; +27 82 8257807; Reuters Messaging: mark.gleeson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))