Photo: Ivorian Football Federation
Wilfried Zaha was among the figures to congratulate Ivory Coast after the Elephants finished off an almost perfect 2026 World Cup qualification campaign on Tuesday with their 3-0 victory over Kenya to secure top spot in Group F and a place at the finals. The Charlotte FC winger sang the praises of the Elephants, despite an odd controversy that has circled the former Crystal Palace star in relation to the national team.
Zaha has not been called for the Elephants since October 2023 when he played in friendly matches against South Africa and Morocco. During the 2023-24 season the now 32-year-old’s form suffered in his club career after a move to Galatasaray, where he fell out of the pecking order after his first season with the Turkish giants.
But notably, Zaha has not been called in by current coach Emerse Faé since taking over and many Ivorian supporters believe that Zaha’s exclusion is due to a rumor circulated by a local journalist. As cited by Ivorian outlet MondialSport, journalist Martial Gohourou alleged that his fallout with the Elephants came after complaining about too much oil on his rice while with the team.
The substance of the rumors sounds like something that is not to be taken seriously but last week, the Abidjan-born winger had enough of Elephants supporters mentioning the story on his social media. On Snapchat, the American-based forward addressed the rumor.
“I know Ivorians like to laugh and joke but enough is enough now. Stop trying to disrespect me with this stupid rumor that isn’t even true. The whole country believed a stupid rumor about rice that some crazy old man made up and laughed at me and you are the same people who are asking me to come and play for the country. If you don’t respect yourself, that’s fine, but you respect me. This is the first and last time I’m talking about this stupidity.”
It is clear that he is conscious of the many comments mentioning the “rice affair” but there is apparently no animosity between the veteran player and the Ivorian Football Federation. Federation president Yacine Idriss Diallo addressed the player’s absence and said that his exclusion is purely due to the selection preferences of coach Faé. Diallo also irritably mentioned “debates on social media” in his comments, another sign of how widely discussed the rumor is.
Still on contract with Galatasaray, Zaha has revived his club career fortunes on loan in Major League Soccer with Charlotte FC this season. He has 9 goals and 11 assists in 32 appearances across all competitions for Charlotte, who have secured qualification for the MLS Cup Playoffs which will take place after their last regular season match against Philadelphia Union on Saturday.