Galatasaray forward Wilfried Zaha is the notable name that did not make Ivory Coast’s final 27-man squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.
However, coach Jean-Louis Gasset has given injured Simon Adingra a chance to feature in the tournament next month, despite Brighton’s statement that he would be on the sidelines for four weeks due to an ankle injury.
Zaha’s exclusion comes as a surprise after enjoying a good start to life in the Turkish Super Lig where he has scored five goals in 13 games so far.
The former Crystal Palace star is joined in the omission list by Besiktas centre-back Eric Bailly while Borussia Dortmund’s Sebastian Haller who is yet to find the back of the net in 11 Bundesliga matches this campaign made the cut.
Ivory Coast are hoping to lift the AFCON trophy for the first time since 2015 on home soil and will contend against Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau in Group A of the showpiece that starts on January 13.
Full Squad List
Goalkeepers: Yahia Fofana (Angers/FRA), Charles Folly (Asec Mimosas), Badra Ali (Sekhukhune United/RSA).
Defenders: Serge Aurier (Nottingham Forest), Willy Boly (Nottingham Forest), Ismael Diallo (Hajduk Split), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting Lisbon), Ghislain Konan (Al-Feiha), Evans N’dicka (Roma), Odilon Kossonou (Bayer Leverkusen) Wilfried Singo (Monaco).
Midfielders: Jean-Thierry Amani Lazare (Union Saint-Gilloise), Idrissa Doumbia (Alanyaspor), Seko Fofana (Al Nassr), Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest), Franck Kessie (Al-Ahli), Jean-Michael Seri (Hull City).
Forwards: Simon Adingra (Brighton & Hove Albion), Jonathan Bamba (Celta Vigo), Jeremie Boga (OGC Nice), Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund), Karim Konate (RB Salzburg), Christian Kouame (Fiorentina), Jean-Philippe Krasso (Red Star Belgrade), Max-Alain Gradel (Gaziantep), Oumar Diakite (Reims), Nicolas Pepe (Trabzonspor).
