Big blow for the Elephants. Striker Sébastien Haller is out of the African Cup of Nations which begins on Sunday, the Ivorian federation announced this Friday in a press release.
The 2023 African champion was injured on Sunday with his club, FC Utrecht (Netherlands), again according to the Ivorian federation which sends him “its wishes for a speedy recovery and renews all its support”.
Former Nice player Evann Guessand, who now plays in England for Aston Villa, is called up to replace him.
This is very bad news for the Elephants, who will defend their title without an experienced scorer. During their victorious journey in 2023, the native of Ris-Orangis (Essonne) offered them qualification for the semi-final against the DRC by scoring a goal in the 65th minute. Rebelote in the final against Nigeria. The powerful number 9, who played for Ajax and Dortmund in particular, scored the winning goal in the 81st minute.
Ivory Coast will begin this CAN 2025 on December 24 with a match against Mozambique. The Elephants will try to get out of a tough group that also includes Gabon and Cameroon.
