Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has been named in Ivory Coast’s provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, although it remains unclear whether he will travel to Gabon for the tournament.
Last month, the 24-year-old indicated his preference to switch allegiance to the country of his birth despite making two appearances for England in friendlies. Palace manager Sam Allardyce admitted that it would be a “massive blow” should Zaha opt to play in the tournament, with the player due to speak with Allardyce this week to discuss his potential involvement. England manager Gareth Southgate also urged the player not to go in a meeting earlier this week.
However, he was named in coach Michel Dussuyer’s 24-man squad on Wednesday along with a number of other Premier League players including Eric Bailly of Manchester United and Wilfried Bony, who is currently on loan at Stoke from Manchester City. The preliminary squad will assemble for a training camp on 2 January in Abu Dhabi ahead of Ivory Coast’s first match against Togo, meaning Zaha would potentially miss the home league game against Swansea the following day.
Ivory Coast Squad
Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohuo (TP Mazembe - DR Congo), Badra Sangare (AS Tanda - Ivory Coast), Mande Sayouba (Stabaek - Norway)
Defenders: Serge Aurier (PSG - France), Mamadou Bagayoko (St Trond VV - Belgium), Eric Bailly (Manchester United - England), Simon Deli (Slavia Prague - Czech Rep), Ousmane Viera Diarrassouba (Adanaspor - Turkey), Wilfried Kanon (ADO La Haye - Netherlands), Lamine Koné (Sunderland AFC - England), Adama Traoré (FC Bale - Switzerland)
Midfielders: Victorien Angban (Grenade - Spain), Cheik Doukoure (FC Metz - France), Franck Kessie (Atalanta - Italy), Yao Serge N’guessan (AS Nancy - France), Geoffroy Serey Die (FC Bâle - Switzerland), Jean Michaël Seri (OGC Nice - France)
Forwards: Wilfried Bony (Stoke City FC - England), Max Gradel (Bournemouth - England), Salomon Kalou (Hertha Berlin - Germany), Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa - England), Nicolas Pépé (Angers - France), Giovanni Sio (Stade Renne - France), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace - England)
No comments:
Post a Comment