Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha has switched allegiances from England to the Ivory Coast.
The 24-year-old, who was born in the Ivorian capital Abidjan, moved to England when he was a young child. He played two senior internationals for England in 2012 and 2013, but both were friendlies allowing the switch.
<p">Zaha has never represented Ivory Coast at underage level. The former Manchester United player featured for both the England U-19 and U-21 teams between 2011 and 2013.
Wilfried Zaha opte pour la Côte d’Ivoirehttps://t.co/BdZUeO5obi pic.twitter.com/XuynRYCglX
— FIFCI (@FIFCI_tweet) November 28, 2016
The news of Zaha's move was confirmed by the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) on their website, which showed the player pictured with a jersey, alongside manager Michel Dussuyer.
Zaha's switch comes at an opportune time for both player and country. The Africa Cup of Nations takes place in Gabon in January and February. Ivory Coast, who are defending their title, are joined in Group C by DR Congo, Morocco and Togo.
Once he makes his debut, Zaha will join the likes of Diego Costa (Brazil and Spain), Alex Bruce (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and Jermaine Jones (Germany and USA) in having played senior internationals for two teams.
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