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Cote d’Ivoire coach Camara names his fnal 23-man AFCON squad

vory Coast Elephants coach Ibrahim Kamara selected his final squad from a 28-man provisional list after their 3-1 victory over Comoros in a warm-up match on Friday.

It was Bony’s first match for the Elephants since the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

The player is currently without a club after he was released by Swansea last month.

The Nations Cup kicks off in Egypt on 21 June.

Toulouse player Max-Alain Gradel, Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia, Lyon’s Maxwell Cornet, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha and Lille’s Nicolas Pepe are all named in Ivory Coast’s list as are Tottenham’s Serge Aurier and Switzerland-based Serey-Die.

Uncapped France-born defender Souleymane Doumbia who plays for Rennes and was only added to the provisional list a few days ago, has also made the final squad.

Three of the five players left out – Asec Mimosa’s Abdoul Karim Cisse and the France-based duo of Abdoulaye Bamba and Ismael Diomande – were found to be unfit and injured by the Elephants’ doctor after medical examinations.

The other missing players are Deli Simona who plays for Czech club Slavia Prague and Yohan Boli who is with Belgian outfit Saint-Truiden.

Also missing is former Arsenal star Gervinho – that is despite his 11 goals and four assists in 30 Serie A league games for Parma last season – and was not included in coach Kamara’s provisional list.

The 23 players will travel to Abu Dhabi for the second part of their preparations where they will play warm-up games against Uganda on 14 June and Ethiopia four days later before they fly out to Egypt.

Ivory Coast are in pool D at Egypt 2019 and will face South Africa in their opening match on 24 June and will then lock horns with Morocco four days later before they play their final group game against Namibia on 1 July.

Ivory Coast final squad:

Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (TP Mazembe, DR Congo), Ali Badra (Free State Stars, South Africa), Tape Ira (FC San Pedro).

Defenders: Serge Aurier (Tottenham, England), Wilfried Kanon (ADO The Hague, Netherlands), Wonlo Coulibaly (ASEC Mimosas), Ismaël Traoré (Angers, France), Mamadou Bagayoko (Red Star, France), Cheikh Comara (Wydad Casablanca, Morocco), Souleyman Bamba (Rennes, France).

Midfielders: Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Mainz, Germany), Geoffrey Serey Dié (Neuchâtel Xamax, Switzerland), Jean-Michaël Seri (Fulham, England), Victorian Angban (Metz, France), Franck Kessié (AC Milan, Italy) , Ibrahim Sangaré (Toulouse, France).

Forwards: Max-Alain Gradel (Toulouse, France), Nicolas Pépé (Lille, France), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, England), Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa, England), Roger Assalé (Young Boys Bern, Switzerland), Maxwel Cornet (Lyon, France), Wilfried Bony (Unattached)

AFCON: Iheanacho, Ajayi fail to make Super Eagles’ 23-man list

Super Eagles Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr on Sunday named his final 23-man squad to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, leaving out Kelechi Iheanacho and Semi Ajayi.

Iheanacho, who struggled for regular playing time at English Premier League outfit Leicester City in the 2018/2019 season, failed to convince Rohr he was worthy of a place in the final list.

Ajayi, who was a standout performer for Rotherham United in the SkyBet Championship in England, could not displace more experienced players to make the team to Egypt.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Super Eagles had played their final friendly game ahead of Egypt 2019 on Saturday.

They drew goalless with the Warriors of Zimbabwe in the friendly at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba and were expected to leave Asaba on Sunday for Egypt.

The 23 players and their officials will leave Nigeria for the final lap of their preparations for the competition.

The three-times African champions will face the Teranga Lions of Senegal in their final friendly match on June 16.

The 2019 AFCON which is the 32nd edition of the competition is scheduled to hold in Egypt from June 21 to July 19.

The Super Eagles’ final squad list released by the Nigeria Football Federation has goalkeepers Francis Uzoho (Anorthosis Famagusta, Cyprus), Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Katsina United) and Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa)

There are also defenders Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy), Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor FC, Turkey), Chidozie Awaziem (Caykur Rizespor, Turkey) and William Ekong (Udinese FC, Italy).

Other defenders are Leon Balogun (Brighton and Hove Albion, England), Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain) and Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany).