Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigeria’s Super Eagles defenders will not likely have the prospect of facing trickery forward, Wilfried Zaha, at the Africa Cup of Nations starting on January 11th.
The hosts Cote d’Ivoire’s head coach Jean-Louis Gasset has named his 27-man squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire without the Galatasaray winger Wilfred Zaha making the cut.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelZaha moved to the Turkish top side from Premier League side Crystal Palace and had missed the Elephant’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and last month’s FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures.
The highly talented Zaha has divided opinions. While a section of Ivorians see him as being an integral part of the team, others see him as being capable of dividing the group due to his fiery personality.
Gasset however has other regulars in the team like Nottingham Forest’s Serge Aurier, Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly plus Al-Ahli midfielder Franck Kessie and Trapzonspor winger Nicolas Pepe, who returns after a year’s absence.
The hosts, Cote d’Ivoire will face Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau in Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Cote d’Ivorie AFCON Squad:
Goalkeepers: Yahia Fofana (Angers SCO) Badra Ali Sangare (Sekhukhune United) Charles Folly (ASEC Mimosas)
Defenders: Serge Aurier (Nottingham Forest) Wilfried Singo (AS Monaco) Evan Ndicka (AS Roma) Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP) Odilon Kossonou (Bayer Leverkusen) Willy Boly (Nottingham Forest) Ghislain Konan (Al-Feyha) Chester Diallo (Hajduk Split).
Midfielders: Idrissa Doumbia (Al-Ahli Doha) Franck Kessie (Al-Ahli) Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest) Seko Fofana (Al-Nassr) Jean Michael Seri (Hull City) Lazare Amani (Union Saint Gilloise)
Forwards: Nicolas Pepe (Trapzonspor) Max-Alain Gradel (Gaziantep) Simon Adingra (Brighton & Hove Albion) Karim Konate (RB Salzburg) Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund) Oumar Diakite (Stade Reims) Jonathan Bamba (Celta Vigo) Jeremie Boga (OGC Nice) Christian Kouame (Fiorentina) Jean-Philippe Krasso (Red Star Belgrade).
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
