FACTBOX-Soccer-Profile on Ivory Coast team for 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

Zaha was born in Abidjan but moved to London aged four, coming through the academy at Crystal Palace. - - - FIFA world ranking Jan 2021: 56 How they qualified: Top placed team in Group K, ahead of Ethiopia, Madagascar and Niger.

Factbox on Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers Ivory Coast. Africa Cup of Nations record Previous appearances in finals: (23) 1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019

Best performance: Winners 1992, 2015 Drawn in Group E with Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.

- - - Coach: Patrice Beaumelle

The 43-year-old Frenchman will be the youngest coach at the tournament but among the most experienced. He served as an assistant to Herve Renard when Zambia won the title in 2012 and again with the Ivory Coast.

Beaumelle branched out on his own in 2019 when Renard left for Saudi Arabia and he stayed on, becoming the national team coach for the Ivorians. - - -

Key player: Wilfried Zaha. Age: 29. Winger. Made his debut for the Ivorians at the 2017 Cup of Nations finals after switching his international allegiance from England, for whom he won two caps in friendly internationals. Zaha was born in Abidjan but moved to London aged four, coming through the academy at Crystal Palace.

- - - FIFA world ranking Jan 2021: 56

How they qualified: Top placed team in Group K, ahead of Ethiopia, Madagascar and Niger. Squad:

Goalkeepers: Abdoul Karim Cisse (ASEC Abidjan), Sylvain Gbohouo (Wolkite Ketema), Badra Ali Sangare (JDR Stars), Eliezer Ira Tape (San Pedro) Defenders: Serge Aurier (Villarreal), Eric Bailly (Manchester United), Willy Boly (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Simon Deli (Adana Denirspor), Wilfried Kanon (Pyramids), Ghislain Konan (Stade de Reims), Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Lazio), Jeremie Boga (Sassuolo), Maxwel Cornet (Burnley), Serey Die (FC Sion), Max Alain Gradel (Sivasspor), Franck Kessie (AC Milan), Habib Maiga (Metz), Ibrahim Sangare (PSV Eindhoven), Jean Michael Seri (Fulham), Hamed Traore (Sassuolo) Forwards: Yohan Boli (Al-Rayyan), Sebastien Haller (Ajax Amsterdam), Karim Konate (ASEC Abidjan), Christian Kouame (Anderlecht), Jean Evrard Kouassi (unattached), Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace). (Compiled by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Toby Davis)

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