MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 23:51:57| >> :120:14141:14141:

Gareth Southgate: 'I want Wilfried Zaha to keep playing for England'

Gareth Southgate is hoping to persuade Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, who has two England caps, not to switch allegiance to the Ivory Coast.

England manager Gareth Southgate has pledged to try to persuade Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha not to switch allegiance to the Ivory Coast.

The 24-year-old, capped twice by the Three Lions, has asked FIFA to allow him to play for the Ivory Coast, the country of his birth, in the Africa Cup of Nations next year.

"We're still hopeful that we can speak to Wilf," Southgate said of Zaha, who can change allegiance because both of his England caps came in friendlies.

"He's certainly somebody that I think has talent, is in a good moment with his club and ideally I'd like to talk to him before he makes that decision.

"I would like to speak with him before we make a decision on whether we are happy to let that happen."

Zaha's two England caps came against Sweden and Scotland in November 2012 and August 2013 respectively.

ID:286620: cacheID:286620:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2014:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Finland's Tim Vayrynen and England's Wilfried Zaha battle for the ball during their U21 European Championships qualifying match on September 9, 2013
Read Next:
Wilfried Zaha swaps England for Ivory Coast
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!