Ivory Coast’s Sebastien Haller, whose goals lifted the country to the title at the last Africa Cup of Nations, was ruled out of this month’s tournament in Morocco on Friday due to injury.
The striker injured his hamstring while playing for Utrecht in the Dutch league last weekend and was treated this week at the Ivorian training camp in Marbella, Spain.
But the Ivorian federation said 31-year-old Haller’s injury would keep him out and that it had called up Aston Villa’s 24-year-old Evann Guessand in his place.
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Haller played a dramatic and poignant role in the Ivorian success two years ago, after recovering from cancer treatment to restart his career and then shaking off an ankle injury early in the 2023 final to return to the side in the knockout stages and score the winner in the semi-finals and final.
Ivory Coast will kick off the defense of its title against Mozambique on Wednesday in Marrakech.
Published on December 19, 2025
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