Cote d'Ivoire's football team poses for a photo ahead of the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifying football match between Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire at Stade Omnisport Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde on November 16, 2021. (Photo by AFP vuia CFP)
Arsenal's Nicolas Pepe and Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha have been included in Cote d'Ivoire's final 28-man squad for the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.
The two are part of head coach Patrice Beaumelle's charges that will attempt to win a third AFCON title for their country.
Other players that have made the cut include Manchester United defender Éric Bailly, Ajax forward Sebastien Haller and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie.
The Elephants are pooled alongside title holders Algeria, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea.
Beaumelle's side will begin their campaign against Equatorial Guinea on January 12.
Cote d'Ivoire have won the AFCON title on two occasions before; first in 1992 and more recently in 2015.
The West Africans have finished as runners up twice; 2006 and 2012.
They were eliminated at the quarter final stage by Algeria in the last edition of the continental tournament held in Egypt in 2019.
Here's a look at the full squad;
Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (Wolkite Ketema, Ethiopia), Badra Ali (JDR Stars, South Africa), Ira Tapé (FC San Pedro), Cissé Abdul Karim (ASEC Mimosas)
Defenders: Serge Aurier (Villareal, Spain), Éric Bailly (Manchester United, England), Willy Boly (Wolverhampton, England), Wilfried Kanon (Pyramids FC, Egypt), Odilon Kossonou (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Simon Deli (Adana Demirspor, Turkey); Ghislain Konan (Reims, France)
Midfielders: Habib Maiga (Metz, France), Serey Die (FC Sion, Switzerland), Ibrahim Sangaré (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Jean Daniel Akpa Akpro (Lazio, Italy), Franck Kessie (AC Milan, Italy), Hamed Junior Traoré (Sassuolo, Italy), Jean Michael Seri (Fulham, England)
Forwards: Maxwell Cornet (Burnley, England), Max Gradel (Sivasspor, Turkey), Jérémie Boga (Sassuolo, Italy), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, England), Jean Évrard Kouassi (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal, England), Christian Kouame (Anderlecht, Belgium), Sebastien Haller (Ajax, Netherlands), Johan Boli (Al- Rayan, Qatar), Konaté Karim (ASEC Mimosas)
(With input from CAF)