Sébastien Haller receives first Ivory Coast call-up

Sebastien Haller celebrates scoring against Charlton

 

Sébastien Haller has received his first call-up to the Ivory Coast national squad.

The West Ham United forward, who was born in France but has an Ivorian mother, has been included in the squad for home and away 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with Madagascar.

Haller, who played for France up to U21 level, will join the likes of Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, Manchester United's Eric Bailly, Arsenal's Nicolas Pepe and Tottenham Hotspur's Serge Aurier in a 26-man squad named by manager Patrice Beaumelle.

Ivory Coast need to win both ties to overhaul Group K leaders Madagascar, who have six points from their opening two ties against Ethiopia and Niger. The Ivorians are third in the group after beating Niger at home but losing in Ethiopia.

The pair will meet first at the recently-opened Stade Nationale in Ebimpé on Thursday 12 November, before heading to the island of Madagascar for the return fixture in Toamasina on Tuesday 17 November.

The group winners will qualify for the final tournament, which will be hosted by Cameroon in January 2022.