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Ghana hires Attuquayefio Egypt beats UAE in friendly; Hassan gets 150th cap
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Egyptian striker Hossam Hassan equaled the world record for international appearances Saturday as Egypt beat the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in an international friendly. Hassan, 34, made his 150th appearance for his country, tying him with Germany's retired midfielder Lothar Matthäus, who played his last international game against Portugal in Euro 2000 -- last year's European championships. Hassan is expected to set the record when Egypt plays Zambia in another friendly on Tuesday. A lackluster first half saw few scoring chances for either team, though Egypt appeared more aggressive. The Emirates scored first on a 31st minute penalty shot from Abdel Salam Gomaa. Egypt tied the game in the 50th minute on Ahmed Hossam's powerful, low shot which beat Emirates goalkeeper Gomaa Rashed. Hossam plays his club football for Ghent in Belgium. Hassan nearly celebrated his record-equaling performance with a goal in the 75th minute when he met Hani Ramzi's cross. His header, however, rebounded off the post. Hassan's twin brother, Ibrahim, smashed the rebound into the net from close range. The friendly came in preparation for both teams' upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Egypt will play Lybia on Jan. 12. --- Lineups: EGYPT: Nader el-Said (Essam al-Hadari), Ibrahim Hassan, Abdel Zahar al-Saka, Ibrahim Said, Mohamed Ommara, Yasser Radwan (Tarek al-Said), Hani Ramzi, Hazem Emam (Said Abdel Hafeez), Ahmed Hassan (Reda Seeka), Ahmed Hossam, Hossam Hassan. EMIRATES: Gomaa Rashed, Omran al-Jassimy, Galil Abdel Rahman, Mohamed Rabia, Mohamed Omar, Heidar Abu Ali, Yasser Salem (Feisal Khalil), Abdallah Salem, Mohamed Ibrahim, Abdel Rahim Gomaa (Khalid Darwish), Abdel Salam Gomaa. Hearts of Oak coach takes over national sideACCRA -- Ghana has appointed Cecil Jones Attuquayefio as coach of the national soccer team, but he will remain at his current club, Hearts of Oak, for two major international events this year. Attuquayefio, 56, took Hearts to victory in the African Champions League against Esperance of Tunis last month and has signed a four-year contract with the national side. He will also remain head coach of Hearts of Oak for next month's African Super Cup against Egyptian club Zamalek and the FIFA Club World Championship in Spain in July. "Attuquayefio has proven by Hearts of Oak's continental success that he is among the he best coaches in Africa, if not the best," Worlanyo Agra, General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), told Reuters late on Friday. "We took that into consideration and also the fact that most of the country's major successes were chalked up under indigenous coaches," he added. The appointment of the former Ghana international, a member of Ghana's triumphant African Nations team in 1965, ends a six-month search for a replacement for Italian Giuseppe Dossena, whose contract ran out last July. Attuquayefio's first matches will be an African Cup qualifier against Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa on January 14 and a World Cup qualifier in Accra against Liberia on January 28. Ghana, which has won the African Nations Cup four times, has never qualified for the World Cup finals.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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