Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha says he has “no regrets” over changing his international allegiance from England to the Ivory Coast, ahead of the upcoming African Cup of Nations.
The 24-year-old played his first game for the national side on Sunday, providing an assist for Giovanni Sio who scored the winner with a header in their friendly match against Sweden ahead of the African competition.
Zaha had lost patience in being called up to the England squad as he only featuring from the bench on two occasions in November 2012 and August 2013.
Speaking in an interview with the Ivory Coast Football Association, after his first game for the national side, Wilfried Zaha said: “I left for England and I did not return to the country. So I did all my classes in my adopted country and it was normal that I played for the English youth selections.
“But for the past four years, I have had ample time to analyse the situation and to take into account the solicitations of the Ivorian federal leaders. So I made my choice.
“Now I want to play with Côte d’Ivoire. It is rewarding first because I am proud to play for my country, then because the Ivorian selection has quality players and it has always been a reservoir of talent. So I made the right choice and I do not regret it.
“I want to be able to give the best of myself to the selection of my country and contribute with my teammates to win more titles.
“I want to be able to offer a third African Cup to Côte d’Ivoire and make Ivorians happy. That is my ambition in the short term. Then we need a qualification at the 2018 World Cup.”
Ivory Coast face Togo in their first game of the African Cup of Nations on Monday before facing DR Congo and Morocco in their remaining group stage games, with the last of those taking place on 24th January.
