Emerse Faé, the coach of the Ivory Coast national team, has explained the reasons for not calling up Wilfried Zaha for the upcoming match against Gabon as well as against Kenya on June 7 and 11.
This Thursday, Emerse Faé announced the list of 25 players selected to participate in the third and fourth rounds of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup against Gabon and Kenya. Absent since his last incident in November, Wilfried Zaha (31 caps, 5 goals) will not be partaking in the next two matches either. This is despite a meeting with Faé in Turkey at the end of March that seemed to open the door for a return.
Zaha not at his best level
During a press conference, Faé explained his decision. According to the 40-year-old coach, the leader of the Turkish league with Galatasaray is not at his best level to make a return to the national team, revealing some insights into his club situation. “During our physical meeting with Wilfried Zaha, he told us that he is not in a sporting project that suits him.
He will work to find a suitable project and thus fight to regain his place in future matches,” said the former Nice player. Regularly starting until the end of January, Zaha has since been relegated to a substitute role.
Since January 25, and the 3-1 victory against Istanbulspor, the former Manchester United player has only started one Süper Lig match. That was on April 2 for the win against Hatayspor (1-0). Tied until June 2026, Zaha is expected to explore other options, hinted Faé, one year after his arrival from Crystal Palace.
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