Zambia welcomes Ivory Coast on June 17, 2023, at the Levy Mwanawasa stadium for their Group H Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier clash.

The West Africans got the better of the 2012 AFCON champions with a 3-1 victory in the Group opener.

Avram Grant’s troops only need a point for their first AFCON appearance since 2015.

Grant named a fairly strong side, with the likes of Rangers rapid striker Fashion Sakala, Leicester City’s Patson Daka, and US Lecce winger Lameck Banda all making the cut in the squad.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast coach Luis Gasset named his squad yesterday with top players missing.

The Elephants will travel to Zambia without Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe, Crystal Palace’s Wilfred Zaha, and Borussia Dortmund’s Sebastian Haller.

BolaNews understands that Haller has been rested following a tough end to the season with Dortmund. Pepe has been excused due to personal reasons.

Zaha has also been given time to conclude his transfer as he is negotiating a new deal following the expiration of his contract with Crystal Palace.

Nevertheless, Ivory Coast still has a midfield powerhouse in Barcelona’s Frank Kessie, who scored against Zambia in the last meeting. Eric Bailly, who had a good season at Marseille, as well as experienced midfielder Max Gradel.

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Many Zambians felt the back-to-back victories against Lesotho were expected and did not come as a surprise.

However, this will be a perfect test for the Chipolopolo who are desperate to make a return to AFCON.