Ivory Coast lose Toure and Zaha

BeSoccer 7 years ago 693
Ivory Coast won Africa Cup of Nations in 2015. AFP

The Manchester midfielder has withdrawn from the Ivory Coast squad ahead of international friendlies due to family reasons.

Yaya Toure had retired from international football after claiming the Africa Cup of Nations title as captain for Ivory Coast. However, the 34-year-old announced his availabilty again in December of last year.

Ivory Coast have upcoming international friendlies against Togo on 24th March and Moldova on 27th March, hosted in France. Toure was selected for his national team, following a three year absence from the international stage. 

The midfielder did not train with the squad on Tuesday and announced that he would be withdrawing from the team for family reasons.

The loss of Toure, who has 102 caps, will be tough for the Ivory Coast team, given that Wilfried Zaha is also unable to play due to injury. 

Mentioned in the news story

International Friendly
Costa de Marfil
Y. Touré