CAIRO - Essam el-Hadari is in contention to be selected for Egypt's crucial Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) qualifier against South Africa, according to goalkeeping coach Ahmed Soliman. El-Hadari, who recently joined Merreikh from Zamalek, will see his four-month ban come to an end in February. After being dropped from Egypt's squad for the Nile Basin tournament for lack of first-team football, the veteran keeper has been given hope of regaining the number one shirt. “El-Hadari is an important member of the Egypt team,” says Soliman, who has worked with the 37-year-old guardian in Egypt's recent three ACN victories. “If he plays regularly with his team in Sudan, this will open the door for him to return to the squad.” In the meantime, Egypt's boss Hassan Shehata is using Abdel-Wahed Al-Sayyed in goal, with Ismaili's Mohamed Sobhi and Masri's Amir Abdel-Hamid to back up the Zamalek skipper. Egypt will visit group leaders South Africa in March, aiming for at least one point to improve their qualification hopes. All three points would obviously be far better.