Two-cap former England star misses out on Afcon squad after switching from Three Lions to new country
TWO-CAP former England international Wilfried Zaha has not been called up to join the Ivory Coast’s Africa Cup of Nations squad in January.
After switching from the Three Lions to the West African nation back in 2017 the Galatasary winger is still struggling to secure international football.
GettyWilfried Zaha has not made it into the Ivory Coast’s Afcon squad[/caption]
Zaha opted to change allegiance to Ivory Coast in the hope of picking up more international caps than he had done for England.
But the move has seemingly soured as coach Jean-Louis Gasset did not name the 31-year-old in his 27-man Africa Cup of Nations squad on Thursday.
Missing out on a spot in the squad may have been expected for the former Crystal Palace star as he has only played in two friendlies for the Ivory Coast this year.
The winger then missed their Cup of Nations qualifiers and last month’s first round of World Cup qualifying.
However, the likes of Nottingham Forest‘s Serge Aurier, Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly have been named in the squad by Senegal – who will host the competition.
Sebastien Haller of Borussia Dortmund and RB Salzburg’s Karim Konate also feature and face Guinea-Bissau in the tournament’s opener on January 13.
Zaha’s Ivory Coast career began five years ago as he made the switch from the England team ahead of the Afcon 2017.
Born in the West African nation, Zaha grew up in England from age four.
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He made his debut for the England national team in 2012 but only managed to secure an appearance in two friendlies.
After a total of 18 years across four spells at Crystal Palace, Zaha rejected a new contract worth £200,000 a week last term.
He then made a move across Europe to Turkish giants Galatasaray on an annual salary of £3.7million – roughly £70k per week.
And the Ivory Coast outcast has made a decent start scoring six goals in 20 appearances.
One of his strikes was against his former side Manchester United in a 3–2 win for Galatasaray at Old Trafford on his first start in the competition.
Zaha will now focus on delivering a performance for his club as they face rivals Fenerbahce in a Turkish Super Cup fixture on Friday night.
