Wilfried Zaha Swaps England for Ivory Coast

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has swapped his international allegiance from England to the Ivory Coast.

The 24-year-old Crystal Palace winger was an England Under-21 team regular before stepping up to the senior side and earning caps against Sweden, in November 2012, and Scotland, in August 2013.

However, because neither match was a competitive fixture, Zaha, who was born in Abidjan, has been able to commit to the Ivory Coast, the country's national football association announced on Sunday.

The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) said in a statement: "The Ivorian-English attacking midfielder Wilfried Zaha has chosen to play for the Elephants, under the colours of the Ivory Coast, his country of origin. The player has sent, on this Sunday November 27 2016, correspondence to FIFA to change his national team.

Zaha, who moved to England as a child, joined the Palace academy aged 12 and had a short spell with Manchester United.