Yaya Toure Snubs Ivory Coast as He Names Guinea Bissau as One of Favourites for AFCON 2023

• Yaya Toure has named his favourites for AFCON 2023
• The Ivory Coast legend won the tournament in 2015
• The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations begins on January 13

Ivory Coast and Manchester City legend, Yaya Toure has picked his favourite teams to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The 2015 AFCON winner surprisingly ignored his own country while listing the nations he believes can win the tournament in Ivory Coast.

Toure cited qualification form as the reason for his selection, with Senegal and Guinea Bissau part of the best.

“It is normal to have a preference for your own country. Ivory Coast has a strong team and many talented and experienced players,” Toure was quoted by wiwsport.com.

“But if I had to choose teams that I think are favourites, I would say Senegal, Morocco, Guinea-Bissau, South Africa. Their performance during qualifying was impressive.”

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The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is set to start on January 13, 2024, with seven-time champions Egypt tipped as one of the favorites for the tournament, having reached the final twice in the last three editions.

Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria share twelve titles among themselves while Senegal head to Ivory Coast as champions of Africa.

Ivory Coast have been drawn in Group A alongside Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau, as reported by beIN Sports.

Nigeria legend Adepoju names AFCON favourites

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that three African powerhouses Nigeria tipped by Mutiu Adpoju as the favourites to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled to kick off in Ivory Coast next year.

Senegal will aim to defend the title they won two years ago as the continent's 24 best teams get set to contest Africa’s biggest football prize from January 13 to February 11.

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According to Punch, former Super Eagles forward Mutiu Adepoju, who won the tournament with Nigeria in 1994, believes the AFCON 2023 title will come down to one of three countries.

M'Bala Nzola rejects AFCON invite

Sports Brief also reported that Angola striker, M'Bala Nzola has reportedly rejected an invite for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast next month.

The Fiorentina forward was named in Pedro Goncalves' final squad for the tournament on Monday as the Palancas Negras begin early preparations for the competition.

Despite playing a key role in Angola's qualification for AFCON next year, Nzola will not be part of the team heading to Ivory Coast.