Ivory Coast coach Zahoui has removed two players from his provisional squad for African Cup of Nations, thus finalizing his squad for the major tournament.

The players who missed the cut are Tavriya midfielder Marco Taddei Ne and Boulogne keeper Ibrahim Kone.

After keeper Daniel Yeboah left Ivory Coast to sign for Dijon, the entire 23-man squad now ply their trade abroad.

West Ham defender Guy Demel, Espanyol midfielder Kofi Ndri Romaric and former Portsmouth forward Aruna Dindane are some of the notable players that were overlooked.

The list contains seven English-based players, including Souleymane Bamba, who plays for Leicester City.

The Elephants are currently in Abu Dhabi for a training camp, where they are set to play warm-up games against Tunisia and Lebanon.

Ivory Coast are chasing for their second AFCON title, and once again they are named as number one favourites for the trophy, with Stan James paying 2.75 (7/4) if the Elephants manage to fulfill the expectations.

Ivory Coast Squad:

Goalkeepers: Barry Boubacar (Lokeren), Gerrard Gnanahouan (Avranches), Daniel Yeboah (Dijon)

Defenders: Siake Tiene (Paris St Germain), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart), Benjamin Angoua Brou (Valenciennes), Igor Lolo (FC Kuban Krasnodar), Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), Emmanuel Eboue (Galatasaray), Kolo Toure (Manchester City), Souleymane Bamba (Leicester City)

Midfielders: Kafoumba Coulibaly (Nice), Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso (Orduspor), Didier Ya Konan (Hannover), Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United), Max Gradel (St Etienne), Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

Forwards: Gervinho (Arsenal), Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Wilfried Boni (Vitesse Arnhem), Abdul Kader Keita (Al Sadd)