Ivory Coast name squad for Africa Cup of Nations

Wilfried Zaha, Nicolas Pepe and Eric Bailly are among the Premier League players included in Ivory Coast’s provisional 28-player squad for the Africa Cup of Nations next month.

AC Milan’s Franck Kessie, Ajax striker Sebastien Haller, ex-Tottenham defender Serge Aurier, Wolves centre-back Willy Boly and Burnley attacker Maxwel Cornet have also been called up.

In addition to those under contract at clubs in Turkey, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, China and Qatar, a handful of African-based players are in the squad – including all four goalkeepers.

AFCON squads in 2022 are capped at 26 players, larger than usual, meaning only two from the group will need to be cut before the tournament is due to begin on 9 January.

Manchester United youngster Amad Diallo is a notable omission from the group, having made his senior international debut for Les Elephants earlier this year.

Zaha’s recall is also a point of interest as it was reported last month that he had asked not to be included in the squad for World Cup qualifiers against Mozambique and Cameroon.

Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (Wolkite Ketema), Badra Ali Sangare (JDR Stars), Abdoul Karim Cisse (Asec Mimosas), Ira Eliezer Tape (San Pedro)

Defenders: Serge Aurier (Villarreal), Eric Bailly (Man Utd), Willy Boly (Wolves), Wilfried Kanon (Pyramids), Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen), Simon Deli (Adana Demirspor), Ghislain Konan (Reims)

Midfielders: Habib Maiga (Metz), Maxwel Cornet (Burnley), Serey Die (Sion), Ibrahim Sangare (PSV Eindhoven), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Lazio), Franck Kessie (AC Milan), Hamed Traore (Sassuolo), Jeremie Boga (Sassuolo), Max Gradel (Sivasspor), Jean Michael Seri (Fulham)

Forwards: Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Jean Evrard Kouassi (Trabzonspor), Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal), Sebastien Haller (Ajax), Christian Kouame (Anderlecht), Yohan Boli (Al-Rayyan), Karim Konate (Asec Mimosas)

Ivory Coast have been drawn into Group E alongside holders Algeria, as well as Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone. They are looking for first title 2015 – only a third overall – and will kick things off when they face Equatorial Guinea three days into the tournament.

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