Ivory Coast recall Zaha for Africa Cup of Nations

ABIDJAN: Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha was recalled Thursday to the Ivory Coast squad for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The 29-year-old refused to join the team at their last gathering in November but coach Patrice Beaumelle has included him in the squad for the tournament which gets underway on January 9 in Cameroon.

The experienced line-up also includes Ajax centre-forward Sebastien Halle, and six members of the team that lifted the trophy for the second time in 2015, notably defenders Serge Aurier and Eric Bailly as well as striker Max Gradel.

Read More: Premier League: Chelsea wins 3-0 as Palace collapses at the Bridge

The Ivory Coast open their campaign against Equatorial Guinea on January 12 followed by further group games against Sierra Leone and Algeria.

Ivory Coast squad:

Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (Wolkite Ketema/ETH), Badra Ali (JDR Stars/RSA), Ira Tapé (FC San Pedro), Cissé Abdul Karim (Asec Mimosas)

Defenders: Serge Aurier (Villareal/ESP), Éric Bailly (Manchester United/ENG), Willy Boly (Wolverhampton/ENG), Wilfried Kanon (Pyramids FC/EGY), Odilon Kossonou (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Simon Deli (Adana Demirspor/TUR); Ghislain Konan (Reims/FRA)

Midfielders: Habib Maiga (Metz/FRA), Serey Die (FC Sion/SUI), Ibrahim Sangaré (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Jean Daniel Akpa Akpro (Lazio/ITA), Franck Kessie (AC Milan/ITA), Hamed Junior Traoré (Sassuolo/ITA), Jean Michael Seri (Fulham/ENG)

Forwards: Maxwell Cornet (Burnley/ENG), Max Gradel (Sivasspor/TUR), Jérémie Boga (Sassuolo/ITA), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace/ENG), Jean Évrard Kouassi (Trabzonspor/TUR), Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal/ENG), Christian Kouame (Anderlecht/BEL), Sebastien Haller (Ajax/NED), Johan Boli (Al- Rayan/QAT), Konaté Karim (Asec Mimosas)