Ivory Coast’s Beaumelle names squad for France and England friendlies
Ivory Coast head coach Patrice Beaumelle has named his squad that will play France and England in March friendlies.
The Elephants will face Les Bleus on March 25 before engaging the Three Lions on March 29 in Marseille and London, respectively.
The majority of the players that took part in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon earlier in January have been maintained. Eric Bailly, who missed a penalty that saw Ivory Coast eliminated by Egypt in the Afcon Round of 16 duel, is also in the named squad.
Meanwhile, Marc Guehi, who is eligible to play for Ivory Coast, has been named in the England squad for the first time.
The defender – with 16 caps for the England U21 side – has been a regular starter for Crystal Palace at club level under Patrick Vieira.
Ivory Coast Squad:
Goalkeepers: Badra Ali Sangare (JDR Stars), Abdoul Karim Cisse (ASEC), Mohamed Kone (Le Havre)
Defenders: Serge Aurier (Villarreal), Wilfried Singo (Torino), Eric Bailly (Manchester United), Willy Bolly (Wolverhampton), Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen), Emmanuel Agbadou (Eupen), Ismael Chester Diallo (Ajaccio), Hassane Kamara (Watford), Ghislain Konan (Reims)
Midfielders: Jean-Michael Seri (Fulham), Ibrahim Sangare (PSV), Paul Edgard Akouokou (Betis), Franck Kessie (AC Milan)
Forwards: Jeremie Boga (Atalanta), Max-Alain Gradel (Sivasspor), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Hamed Junior Traore (Sassuolo), Jean-Evrard Kouassi (Trabzonspor), Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal), Sebastien Haller (Ajax), Maxwel Cornet (Burnley), Christian Kouame (Anderlecht)
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France Squad:
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United/ENG, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan/ITA)
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Lens), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa/ENG), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich/GER), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan/ITA), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Jules Kounde (Sevilla/ESP), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich/GER), Raphael Varane (Manchester United/ENG)
Midfielders: Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille, on loan from Arsenal/ENG), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/ENG), Paul Pogba (Manchester United/ENG), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus/ITA), Aurelien Tchouameni (Monaco)
Forwards: Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/GER), Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/ESP, on loan from Barcelona/ESP), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig/GER)