Emerse Faé justifies the absence of Seko Fofana and the presence of Haller!

Ivory Coast national team coach Emerse Faé has explained his choices regarding Sébastien Haller and Seko Fofana for the Elephants' debut in the CAN 2025 qualifiers, against Zambia (September 6 in Bouaké) and Chad (September 10 in Yaoundé, Cameroon).

At a press conference on Monday, Faé revealed the list of 25 players selected for these two matches. Although Sébastien Haller has not yet played a match for Dortmund this season (remaining on the bench during the Cup and the start of the championship), he still benefits from the confidence of the coach, thanks to his consistency in the national team.

“Haller has a different story from the others. He was very decisive during the last CAN. Every time he was called up for selection, he fulfilled his role. Sure, he may not meet all the selection criteria, but he remains a striker capable of scoring goals and being decisive in key moments. We also appreciate the idea of ​​providing support to players who need it, whether physically or mentally. This is something very important to us.”Faé explained.

Despite his lack of playing time at club level, the former Ajax player is considered fit to play thanks to his good performances for the national team and the data provided by Dortmund. “He is a crucial player for the staff and we insisted on his selection. We have had a lot of discussions with him and have had a good relationship with Dortmund, who have given us their GPS data from friendlies and training. Although he has not played many official matches, Sébastien works hard and his GPS data is excellent.”assured Faé.

Regarding Seko Fofana and Ghislain Konan, they were left out due to their insufficient physical condition. Recently loaned to Al-Ettifaq, Fofana lacked adequate preparation, as did Konan, who is in the process of leaving for Al-Nassr. “As I said before publishing the list, we are going through a complicated transfer window to manage. Seko, who was waiting for his transfer from Al-Nassr, did not have any real preparation and trained separately, just like Ghislain.

Seko was transferred just a week ago. He now needs to recover and get back in shape before he can return to the national team. At the moment, he is not ready for two international matches.Faé said, refuting any hypothesis that Fofana had deliberately chosen to avoid these meetings.