Back in November 2012, young Wilfried Zaha made his senior debut for England in a friendly against Sweden. It was a late, second-half cameo under the reign of Roy Hodgson.However, the Ivorian born forward didn’t feature in any competitive game for the Three Lions ever, which allowed him to switch football nationality and return to his roots – defending the colours of Ivory Coast.Almost 10 years after his debut for England, Wilfried Zaha is likely to line up against them for the Ivory Coast on Tuesday for the first time.How it went wrong for him with England, why he chose the country of his birth & if England missed out 👇🏻 #CPFChttps://t.co/NOqNQPqt9u— Matt Woosnam (@MattWoosie) March 25, 2022 Now, the experienced, 29-year-old forward is about to face his previous national side in a friendly scheduled for Tuesday night at Wembley.England boss Gareth Southgate says he understands Zaha’s decision to play for the Elephants.”He’s a talent,” said Southgate, who managed Zaha at under-21 level. Zaha, who was born in Abidjan and moved to London aged four, has won 26 caps for Ivory Coast and played in the Africa Cup of Nations three times.THU: 21.45: (1.48) ENGLAND (4.20) IVORY COAST (7.25)”He’s a good player playing at a high level every week,” added Southgate.”He felt the Ivory Coast was the route to go, and I totally understood that. It’s hard to say what his role might have been with us,” concluded Southgate.
