Zaha’s assist helps Cote d’Ivoire win friendly on his debut

Advertisement

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha provided the decisive cross on his Cote d’Ivoire debut as they beat Sweden 2-1 in an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) warm-up match on Sunday.

The former England international, who switched his allegiance to The Elephants ahead of their Nations Cup defence, came off the bench in Abu Dhabi to provide the perfect cross.

Advertisement

Giovanni Sio headed home the cross to give the African champions the winning goal.

An own-goal from Wilfried Kanon had put Sweden ahead, with Yao Nguessan equalising on the stroke of half-time.

Advertisement

The 24-year-old Zaha was born in Cote d’Ivoire but has two England caps, having played against Sweden in November 2012 and Scotland the following year.

As both were friendly matches, he was permitted to commit his international future to his country of birth.

Advertisement

The Ivorians have been preparing for the Nations Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

They will be heading to Gabon on Thursday and will play their opening Group C game on Jan. 16 against Togo.

Advertisement

In other friendly internationals played over the weekend, Algeria were 3-1 winners over Mauritania while Burkina Faso beat Mali 2-1.

Uganda also defeated Slovakia 3-1, while Egypt recorded a rare victory over North African rivals Tunisia with a 1-0 win

Advertisement
Advertisement
Exit mobile version