Mali - Abdoulaye Doucouré: "I don't want to go to the AFCON"
Everton mainstay Abdoulaye Doucouré will not be with Mali for the 2023 AFCON. The player does not want to play in the tournament.
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If any Mali supporters were still hoping he might change his mind, they will now have to face facts: the door is firmly closed between Abdoulaye Doucouré and Mali. Called up for the first time for the 2022 World Cup play-offs against Tunisia, the midfielder has not pulled on the Eagles shirt since. Having announced at the start of the season that he was taking a "break" from international duty, the Everton player has now shut the book on any involvement at the 2023 AFCON.
Read more: Mali - Abdoulaye Doucouré, is it over already?
Asked about a possible return to the national team to take part in the tournament in January, Abdoulaye Doucouré answered bluntly: "No, for the moment, I don't think I'll be playing in the Africa Cup of Nations, to be honest (…) I think I'll stay here in an Everton shirt. I don't want to go. It's not a very big decision because I've only been involved with the Mali national team camp once."
"I have all the respect for my country, but... "
It is a blow to the last hopes of fans who had pictured the Everton midfielder reversing his decision and bolstering the squad for the AFCON. All the more so as the former Rennes and Watford man has been in fine form since the start of the season, with 3 goals in 11 Premier League games. But for him, the focus is elsewhere, and he apparently still carries the scars of his first experience with the national team, which he admitted he did not particularly enjoy. "I really want to concentrate on my career and on the club. I have all the respect for my country, but I'm going to stay here, " Abdoulaye Doucouré concluded.
The decision has drawn criticism from some national team supporters, while others simply see Abdoulaye Doucouré's brief chapter with Mali as already over, especially as he has just extended his contract with Everton until 2025, with a pay rise included. So it is no accident that he is choosing to commit fully to his club. It remains to be seen how head coach Eric Chelle will react to what looks like a final decision.
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