Egypt skipper Ahmed Hassan has equalled the Pharaohs' international caps record of 169 set by Hossam Hassan, who had a 20-year career from 1986 to 2006. In 2008, Ahmed equalled another record set by Hossam, when he won his third African Nations Cup title after being in the sides that came up triumphant in 1998, 2006 and 2008 in Ghana. Hossam won the continental title in 1986, 1998 and 2006. Hassan played his 169th match when Egypt beat Benin 2-0 during the last Group C matches played on Wednesday. He has so far scored 28 goals for Egypt and more than 100 goals for the various clubs he has turned out for since 1994. "It is a dream to become Egypt's most capped player," Ahmed told FilGoal.com earlier this week. "But winning the African Cup of Nations is the most important objective now," he added. The 34 year-old midfielder is set to break the record during the quarter-finals game on Monday when Egypt face the second placed team in Group D, which is to be decided today today. "Playing so many games and holding on to my place in the team proves that excellence has nothing to do with age," he said. Ahmed played in Europe for ten years, switching between several Turkish clubs like Kocaelispor, Denizlispor, Genclerbirligi before moving to Belgium, where he played two seasons for Anderlecht. He returned in the summer of 2008 to join Egypt champions Ahly, with whom he won the league title and the African Champions League. Saudi Arabia's Mohamed al-Deayea (181) and Mexico's Claudio Suarez (178) remain clear of the playmaker in the all-time appearance record-holders' list.
