Coach Jean-Louis Gasset Snubs Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha for Ivory Coast. The coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, has made an unexpected decision by excluding Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha from the country’s 27-man squad for the African Cup of Nations.
Zaha, the 31-year-old winger who transferred to the Turkish Super Lig from Crystal Palace, saw limited international action this year. Despite his move and two appearances in Ivory Coast friendlies, he missed out on key tournaments, including the Cup of Nations qualifiers and the recent initial round of World Cup qualifying matches.
Gasset’s selections for the Ivory Coast squad include Nottingham Forest’s Serge Aurier, Ibrahim Sangare, and Willy Boly, alongside Al-Ahli midfielder Franck Kessie and Trabzonspor winger Nicolas Pepe, making a comeback after a year’s absence.
Ismael Diallo from Hajduk Split earns his maiden call-up, while Lazare Imani from Union Saint Gilloise secures his second consecutive spot in the squad.
The team also boasts forwards Sebastien Haller from Borussia Dortmund and Karim Konate from RB Salzburg for the upcoming tournament. Ivory Coast is set to kick off its campaign against Guinea-Bissau on January 13th, followed by matches against Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea in Group A.
Why Coach Jean-Louis Gasset Snubs Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha for Ivory Coast’s AFCON
Crystal Palace standout Wilfried Zaha declined a call-up to join the Ivory Coast national team in November 2023. He claimed to be deliberating on his international future.
National team manager Patrice Beaumelle disclosed that the 28-year-old forward consistently feels homesick during international breaks. Beaumelle made this revelation, following his decision not to include Zaha in the 25-man squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Mozambique and Cameroon.
Zaha’s appearances for the Elephants in 2021 were limited to just three matches, with his absence during the June and September international breaks. These factors indicate a possible conclusion to his Ivory Coast career.
Beaumelle said, “Zaha didn’t want to join because he feels homesick during breaks. He’s thinking about his future in international games.”
Zaha has played 20 times for Ivory Coast and scored five goals since switching from England in 2016. He’s been in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments for his country, in 2017 and 2019. Now, with the next tournament coming up this January, the 28-year-old is thinking about whether he’ll take part.
Zaha represented England in youth international football and was selected by former Three Lions manager Roy Hodgson for friendly matches against Sweden in 2012 and Scotland in 2013.
We wait and see if Coach Jean-Louis Gasset will continue to Snub Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha for Ivory Coast or will reconsider before the competition kicks off.
Ivory Coast AFCON 2024 Squad
Goalkeepers:
- Yahia Fofana (Angers SCO)
- Badra Ali Sangare (Sekhukhune United)
- Charles Folly (ASEC Mimosas)
Defenders:
- Serge Aurier (Nottingham Forest)
- Wilfried Singo (AS Monaco)
- Obite Ndicka (AS Roma)
- Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP)
- Odilon Kossonou (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Willy Boly (Nottingham Forest)
- Ghislain Konan (Al-Fayha)
- Ismael 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 (Nice)
- Christian Kouame (Fiorentina)
- Jean-Philippe Krasso (Red Star Belgrade)