BENGUELA - Egypt's captain Ahmed Hassan will set a new record as Africa's most-capped international when the defending champions meet Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations' quarter-final in Benguela on Monday. The midfielder will be earning his 170th cap, allowing the 34-year-older, who has already won three Nations Cup titles and remains the driving force behind his team, to overtake compatriot and former team mate Hossam Hassan. “It is a great honour for me to break the record. It has always been an honour to be called up and to wear the national jersey. I'm very happy and proud,” he told Reuters in an interview in Benguela. Hassan made his national team debut in 1995, first picked by Dutch coach Ruud Krol, and was selected for the 1996 Nations Cup finals in South Africa but did not play. He has played at seven successive tournaments since, scoring in the final when Egypt beat South Africa in Ouagadougou in 1998. “That would be the game that was the turning point for me but I'm happy to have played a lot of matches and had a lot of highlights.” He was named player of the tournament when Egypt won the Nations Cup in 2006 and was influential again in their triumph in Ghana two years ago. But for all his success on the continent, which also includes an African Champions League medal with Cairo club Al-Ahly, Hassan has never managed to make it to the World Cup finals. Egypt were knocked out of the 2010 finals in South Africa after losing a tempestuous play-off to Algeria in November. “That was exceedingly disappointing and was probably my last chance to go to the World Cup,” Hassan lamented. “But to be a three time African champions is probably better than playing a single match at the World Cup.” Hassan has no plans to stop his international career after the tournament in Angola, where the Pharaohs are seeking an unprecedented third successive title. Egypt play England at Wembley in March and European champions Spain in June and Hassan said: “As long as the national team need me and as long as I can add something to the team, I will be available.” Meanwhile, Zambia's unheralded French coach Herve Renard said his side could cause more upsets at the African Cup of Nations if they do not rest on their laurels. Renard, in his first job as a national coach, has already hit his target by steering Zambia to the last eight - a feat they failed to achieve at their last five Nations Cup finals. They will face Nigeria in the quarter-finals on Monday. “I think most people thought this objective was a bit mad but we spoke with the players about it and even though we were in a tough group, we were sure of our potential,” Renard said. “There is a risk now that the players will feel satisfied with what they (have) achieved but it is my job as a coach to get them motivated again.” “It is a bonus for us now but it is a bonus we must want to take. Our new target is to try and get a medal at this tournament even if it is bronze,” he added in the interview. Zambia were a long shot going into the tournament, paired with World Cup-bound Cameroon plus Gabon and Tunisia, two sides who were strong contenders for places at this year's finals in South Africa but ultimately missed out. However, after beating Gabon 2-1 in Benguela on Thursday, Zambia finished top of Group D on goals scored after a three-way tie in the standings. Cameroon were second. “There were few people believing in me,” said 41-year-old Renard, scathing of doubters in Zambia and having already had several acrimonious run-ins with the country's press. “People weren't happy when I said Zambia were an average team and that they didn't deserve to go to the World Cup. It hasn't been easy to work but I was ambitious and wanted to do something with them.”
