Wilfried Zaha Breaks Silence After Failing to Make Ivory Coast Squad for AFCON 2023

• Wilfried Zaha has backed Ivory Coast ahead of AFCON 2023
• The Galatasaray star has not been included in the team
• Zaha switched nationalities to represent the West African nation

Galatasaray forward Wilfried Zaha has reacted to his omission from the Ivory Coast squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations on home soil.

The former Manchester United and Crystal Palace winger was surprisingly not included in the 27-man squad released by coach Jean-Louis Gasset.

Zaha, who switched nationalities to represent Ivory Coast, was part of the team at the tournament in Cameroon last year.

However, after making only two appearances this year, coach Gasset decided to leave him out of his team.

The Galatasaray forward took to social media to back the players selected for the tournament as he watches from home.

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"Good luck to the guys selected to represent the country in this tournament," he posted on his IG story.

Zaha has made 31 appearances and scored five goals for the West African giants.

Ivory Coast are chasing a third Africa Cup of Nations title after the successes of 1992 and 2015, where they defeated Ghana in both finals.

Another notable exclusion from the Ivory Coast squad is former Manchester United defender Eric Bailly, as reported by the BBC.

Ivory Coast, Nigeria name AFCON squads

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that participating teams for the forthcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations including Nigeria and Ivory Coast are making final preparations ahead of the tournament, which starts on January 13.

Coaches have submitted their final squads for the showpiece and here we look at the players who will be heading to the tournament to represent their respective countries.

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South Africa will be without their key striker, Lyle Foster, who was left out of the squad due to mental health problems, while Ivory Coast will be without Wilfred Zaha.

Morocco name AFCON 2023 squad

Sports Brief also reported that 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco have named the final 27-man squad for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Achraf Hakimi and Manchester United midfielder Sofyan Amrabat headline the squad named by coach Walid Regragui.

Morocco are one of the favourites to win the 34th edition of AFCON, and most of the squad that reached the semifinals of the World Cup last year are in the squad.