Wilfried Zaha dropped as hosts Ivory Coast name a star-studded squad ahead of AFCON 2023

Hosts of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) has named a star-studded squad that will compete for the highly coveted African title and a noticeable absence was that of Wilfried Zaha.

Ivory Coast's team is currently being managed by French coach Jean-Louis Gasset whose 27-man squad announced ahead of AFCON 2023 comprises of several talented players including Sebastien Haller who plays as a striker for Borussia Dortmund, Wilfried Singo who plays as a defender for Monaco, and a few midfielders such as Ibrahim Sangare from Nottingham Forest, Seko Fofana from Al Nassr.

Noticeable absences in the team include Wilfried Zaha of Galatasaray and Eric Baily.

Gasset revealed the reason behind his decision to drop Zaha, he categorized it as a pure coaching decision. He said, “It was a very difficult decision to take but we already have an exciting squad that boasts of many right wingers. It’s a pure coach’s decision.”

Here are the players that will represent Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) at AFCON 2023:

Goalkeepers: Yahia Fofana (Angers, France), Charles Folly (ASEC Mimosas, Ivory Coast), Badra Ali Sangare (Sekhukhune United, South Africa).

Defenders: Serge Aurier, Willy Boly (both Nottingham Forest, England), Ismael Diallo (Hajduk Split, Croatia), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal), Ghislain Konan (Al Fayha, Saudi Arabia), Evans Ndicka (Roma, Italy), Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Wilfried Singo (Monaco, France).

Midfielders: Jean-Thierry Lazare Amani (Union Saint-Gilloise, Belgium), Idrissa Doumbia (Alanyaspor, Turkey), Seko Fofana (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia), Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest, England), Franck Kessie (Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia), Jean-Michael Seri (Hull City, England).

Forwards: Simon Adingra (Brighton & Hove Albion, England), Jonathan Bamba (Celta Vigo, Spain), Jeremie Boga (Nice, France), Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Karim Konate (RB Salzburg, Austria), Christian Kouame (Fiorentina, Italy), Jean-Philippe Krasso (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia), Max-Alain Gradel (Gaziantep, Turkey), Oumar Diakite (Reims, France), Nicolas Pepe (Trabzonspor, Turkey).]

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