Sudan game my biggest ever - Renard

Herve Renard says Saturday’s 2012 Africa Cup quarterfinal clash against Sudan at Estadio de Bata in Equatorial Guinea will be the biggest game of his coaching career. The Frenchman will be in charge of his second successive Africa Cup quarterfinal match in charge of Zambia and in search of his first semifinal appearance after reaching the last eight in Angola in 2010. "Of course, I have already played one semifinal but I was assistant coach in Ghana then later the quarterfinal in 2010 was my first as head coach," Renard said. "Now this is the second and I also reached the Chan semifinal which is not bad."

Renard guided Zambia to the semifinals of the inaugural Caf African Nations Championship (Chan) held in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009 where his team finished third. And Renard revealed that Bidvest Wits defender Kampamba Chintu will not be part of the team against Sudan on Saturday due to injury. Chintu has failed to recover from a tendon problem that has seen him sit out the last four days of training. "He just needs some rest for two or three days we have to qualify for him to be ready for the semifinals," the Frenchman said. Should Zambia beat Sudan this weekend, they will end a 16-year wait to reach the last four where they lost to eventual runners-up Tunisia at the 1996 tournament help in South Africa on their way to picking bronze.