JASON Demetriou will break a Southend United club record set in 1939 when Cyprus face Belgium in a World Cup qualifier tonight.

Demetriou - who captained Cyprus in their 2-1 defeat against Greece on Saturday night - looks set to win his 10th international cap as a Shrimpers player when he faces Belgium this evening.

And that would see him become Blues’ most capped international ever, beating the nine caps Republic of Ireland goalkeeper George McKenzie won 78 years ago.

“It’s always a very proud moment when I play for my country and to get the Southend record would be really nice too,” said Demetriou.

“I really enjoy playing international football and it’s really exciting when you get to play against the top players and teams.

“That will certainly be the case against Belgium tonight but we’ve played them a few times now in qualifying campaigns and we’ll be looking to stay in the game as long as we can.”

Demetriou - who qualifies to play for Cyprus due to his grandfather - has won 46 caps for his country.

And the 29-year-old was thrilled to wear the captain’s armband for the first time at the weekend.

“In the build up to the game the manager said he was thinking of selecting a team which would see me having the most caps so I was going to be captain and I was absolutely buzzing about it,” said Demetriou.

“It was an extremely proud moment for me and my family and there were plenty of positives to take from the game despite the defeat.

“We took the lead and gave Greece a real game but unfortunately we couldn’t get anything from the match.

“However, we’ve been doing well lately and we can definitely take plenty of encouragement from it.”

Cyprus head into tonight’s game at the Heysel Stadium sitting fifth in the six team group.

Belgium have already secured top spot with 25 points from nine games and triumphed 4-3 at Bosnia-Herzegovina at the weekend.

Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi and Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen were among the goalscorers.