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Zambia coach Herve Renard has set an audacious quarterfinal target for his side at next year�s Orange Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted in Angola. It will be 14 years in 2010 since Zambia last advanced to the last eight at an Africa Cup final tournament when they finished third at the 1996 competition held in South Africa. Zambia has failed to break that duck since then bowing out in the preliminary group stage in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2008. The team will, at the 2010 Africa Cup, also be making their 14th Africa Cup tournament appearance since making their dramatic debut in 1974 in Egypt where they went on to reach the final but only to lose to then Zaire in a replay. Should Zambia qualify to the quarterfinals in Angola, the occasion could see Renard toast a personal Africa Cup milestone on his still very young African coaching safari. Moreover, this will be the Frenchman's first ever Africa Cup as head coach after earlier being on the Black Stars Ghana bench as physical trainer under his well-travelled Africa Cup winning coach and compatriot Claude Le Roy in his first national team appointment in 2008. "Our target now is to reach the second round," 41-year-old Renard said who also had stints as coach in a 10-year career on the bench with French teams SC Draguignan where he cut his spurs in 1999 and AS Cherbourg from 2005 to 2007 after a playing career stretching from 1983 to 1998. His foreign jobs include spells at Chinese club Shanghai Cosco and English team Cambridge United before heading to Ghana. 2009 has been a good year at the helm of Zambia for the Frenchman after a poor first six months in charge in 2008. Renard has guided Zambia to winning bronze at the inaugural Orange African Nations Championship hosted by Cote d�Ivoire early this year where they beat Senegal 2-1 in a third and fourth place play-off. Zambia later finished runner-up in the regional COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup in November after losing 3-1 to hosts Zimbabwe who rallied from 1-0 down to lift the trophy. Meanwhile, Renard has been modest about his targets with Zambia since taking charge insisting that a quarterfinal qualification will be a great leap for the team after failing to reach the last eight stage in their last five outings. "In life you have to take it step-by-step," he said.�It was my target when I came to qualify to the Africa Cup. Now we want to go to the next step.� Renard went on to say that the key to Zambia's achieving their quarterfinal dreams was achieving a favorable result against Group D favorites Cameroon coached by fellow Frenchman Paul LeGuen whom they meet in their second pool match in Lubango where the teams will be based on January 17. Other teams in Group D are Gabon and 2004 Africa Cup champions Tunisia in a setting that is billed as the �Battle of France� that will pit Renard against compatriots LeGuen (Cameroon) and Alain Giresse (Gabon). "Cameroon are coached by a good French coach who has won the league with Lyon and was a great player in his days at Paris Saint Germain and his organizing is very good," he said. However, Renard's side has some work cut out for them especially after Zambia's qualifying process has not been that spectacular whose major concern has been just the two goals scored from six matches in the final pool phase. That tally was the same number of goals Zambia scored from their four matches played in the preliminary group qualifying stage in Group 11 where they finished top on seven points one more than second placed Togo. Things in the final 2010 qualifying phase started promising for Zambia in Group c against favorites from their pool to reach the South Africa finals and current Africa Cup champions Egypt. A dramatic 1-1 draw away in Cairo on March 29 threatened to set the tone before Zambia beat Rwanda 1-0 at home in the second game in Chililabombwe. However, three straight defeats, two of them at home, saw Zambia from then on hover in third place for the remainder of their Group C qualifying series. Algeria came to visit in Chililabombwe to record a stunning 2-0 away win on June 20 before the 2010 FIFA World Cup finalists narrowly won in the return leg at home on September 9 in Blida. Egypt also left Chililabombwe on a rare visit to the country with a win after recording a 1-0 away victory on October 10 leaving Zambia with all to play for in their final game away to bottom of the table Rwanda in Kigali on November 14. A draw was enough for Zambia against Rwanda and that's what Renard's side recorded in Kigali when the game finished 0-0 to see them qualify via the third and final qualifying place in their group. Zambia collected five points to secure third spot to complete the three Africa Cup finalists together with Egypt and Algeria who finished in second and first place on 13 and 16 points respectively. Meanwhile, key to Zambia�s progress in Angola will again fall on the brothers Katongo. Although the goals may have dried up for Zambia, striker Christopher and midfielder Felix who plays for Armenia Bielefeld in the 2.Budesliga in Germany and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa respectively remain an influential force in the team. Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene of Free State Stars in South Africa is another vital player for Renard�s side in between the sticks. Mweene and the Katongo brothers all return for their third Africa Cup tournament after debuting at the Egypt finals in 2006. The trio is part of Zambia�s core contingent of players based abroad and evenly spread between Europe and South Africa. South Africa has a largest contingent of Zambian players with eight led by goalkeeper Mweene and Felix Katongo including striker Collins Mbesuma from Moroka Swallows, plus the 2007 CAF Young Footballer of The Year Clifford Mulenga of Mpumalanga Black Aces. Seven players are based in the Europe zone with Christopher Katongo prominent on the list of the half a dozen players scattered in leagues from Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Armenia and Israel, the latter country with two former Under-20 international in striker Emmanuel Mayuka and midfielder William Njobvu. Left-back Emmanuel Mbola is the Armenian based player at local champions Pyunik Yervan while striker Jacob Mulenga is at FC Ultrecht while nippy midfielder Rainford Kalaba plays in Portugal for Uni�o de Leiria. Striker James Chamanga who by press time was the sides top scorer with seven goals in all international meetings this year is one of two Asian zone based played and plays for Chinese side Dalian Haichang while defender Francis Kasonde is based in the Gulf state of Oman. 2009 African Nations Championship top scorer Given Singuluma will be looking to light up the big stage year again. Singuluma currently plays for DR Congo side and 2009 Orange Africa Champions League winners TP Mazembe. He is one of two players in the Zambia team playing in the minor football African football destinations with the other being Signs Chibambo from Nigerian side Heartland. Meanwhile, they are a couple of home-based names to look out for and are on the fringes of the main team and looking to make the trip the Angola. Newly crowned Zambian league champions left-winger Allan Mukuka and his defensive right-back Thomas Nyirenda. They will be battling to get on the home quota with defender Denis Banda from Green Buffaloes and the unattached and second sibling duo in the team of striker Felix Sunzu and his young brother and midfielder Stopilla. Renard will be assisted his compatriot Patrice Beaumelle and Zambian George Lwandamina who led the Zambia Under-20 to the last 16 of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada in 2007 who was until this year coach at local team Green Buffaloes.