Ivory Coast boss Patrice Beaumelle is hopeful he can convince England defender Marc Guehi to switch his international allegiance.
Guehi, who was born in Ivory Coast, made his senior debut in the Three Lions’ victory over Switzerland at Wembley on Saturday.
The Crystal Palace defender has now represented England at every level from Under 16 upwards, and could make his second appearance in Tuesday’s clash with the Elephants.
However, the 21-year-old is still eligible to switch to the country of his birth, having yet to appear in a competitive match under Gareth Southgate.
Guehi, who spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Championship side Swansea City, has made 28 Premier League appearances since leaving Chelsea for Selhurst Park in July.
The Eagles have kept eight league clean sheets along the way, a tally bettered by just seven sides in the English top-flight this term.
And Ivory Coast head coach Beaumelle hopes Guehi will follow in the footsteps of Wilfried Zaha by swapping the Three Lions for the Elephants.
"I have been following Marc for two years, since he was playing at Swansea," he said.
"I know he can still choose Ivory Coast, so we are working on that. I tried to contact him several weeks ago.
"But when I saw him in the English lists, I understood that at the moment, he wants to try with the Three Lions.
"The choice has to come from the heart. He will make his own decision. He did well in his first cap for England.
"Maybe, we will try for the orange jersey of Ivory Coast – you never know.
"I will wait a few weeks and try to contact him to know if he is interested."
Like father, like son – Shaqueel van Persie makes Youth League debut
Robin van Persie handed a UEFA Youth League debut to his son Shaqueel for Feyenoord on Tuesday.
Van Persie, the former Arsenal and Manchester United star, is now coaching Feyenoord's Under-18s team and the Under-19s team.
And while taking charge of the latter side in the Youth League, Van Persie handed his son Shaqueel his debut in the competition as a 56th-minute substitute against Atletico Madrid.
Van Persie junior could not help his father's team avoid defeat, however, with Iker Luque scoring the only goal of the game in the 81st minute.
Shaqueel the real deal?
Shaqueel van Persie made his European debut five years and 104 days after his father last played in a European match for Feyenoord, where he finished his career.
The 17-year-old, who was born during Van Persie's stint at Arsenal, began his youth career with Manchester City before moving to Feyenoord in 2017, a year before his father joined the same club.
He has already represented the Netherlands at Under-16 and Under-17 level.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta feels he still has something to prove in Europe
Mikel Arteta admits he still has something to prove as a manager in European competition as he aims to lead Arsenal into the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday night.
The Gunners host Lens at the Emirates Stadium knowing a point would secure safe passage into the last 16 while victory will seal top spot in Group B.
Arteta led Arsenal back into the Champions League after a seven-year absence but – other than a run to the semi-finals in 2020-21 – he struggled in Europa League knockout games earlier in his tenure.
Asked if he has something to prove in Europe, he replied: “For sure.
“I think it is not that we have to prove, we had to come back into Europe being the club we want to be, have that presence and the results that tell them we are back in a strong way, we haven’t done that yet and it needs to be done.”
While Arsenal are on the verge of qualifying for the latter rounds, Premier League rivals Manchester United and Newcastle are still uncertain if their European campaigns will extend beyond Christmas this season.
“100 per cent not,” Arteta replied when asked if qualification should be taken for granted.
“You have to sweat, dig in a lot and play well in games to deserve to win them. We are playing against really tough opponents.
“PSV have won all of their games in their league, they have only lost against us. Sevilla is a very tough place to go and tomorrow is going to be a really difficult game but hopefully we can be better than them.
“I am enjoying it, is a great feeling. It makes you proud, it makes you feel that it is the level the club should be at and we are competing really well so let’s continue to do so.”
With Arsenal on the cusp of making the knockout rounds, Arteta could be tempted to shuffle his pack against their Ligue 1 opposition.
Kai Havertz will be pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score a late winner at Brentford on Saturday to send Arsenal top of the Premier League.
Others will also be knocking on the door but one player who will definitely not feature is Fabio Vieira.
Arteta revealed the midfielder has gone under the knife to fix a niggling groin issue and could not offer a return date when pressed.
“Yes, we’ve got a problem with him,” he said.
“He’s been having some discomfort. We tried to have some conservative treatment with him.
“It wasn’t improving so we sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin. We expect him to be out for weeks now.
“We don’t expect him to (be back before January). Let’s see how he evolves. The job it was done yesterday so we’ll have to wait and see. It will take weeks I think.”
Vieira joins Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Emile Smith Rowe on the sidelines with the potential that the quartet all miss the busy festive schedule.
Bayern Munich to keep ‘hunger high’ in Champions League top spot – Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel insists Bayern Munich do not see it as job done in the Champions League despite having secured top spot in their group with two matches remaining.
Bayern host Copenhagen on Wednesday knowing progress to the knockout stage is assured but they want to maintain their momentum, as well as extend their proud record of having won 17 consecutive group games.
“It’s still a Champions League game,” Tuchel told a press conference when asked if he would rotate his squad.
“We are on a roll and we are having results and we don’t want to interrupt this phase because the management of workload is not too difficult. We now have a longer break from Friday to Wednesday.
“We are discussing it. We’re certain of being top in the group but we don’t want to send the signal that it’s not that important to us.
“If we make changes then it is in order to keep that bite, to keep that hunger high and to give players an opportunity that were patient, that were really pushing for their places.”
Bayern announced ahead of the game that veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who has made a strong comeback from a broken leg, and his understudy Sven Ulreich have both signed new one-year deals, keeping them at the club until June 2025.
Neuer, who joined the club from Schalke in 2011, said on fcbayern.com: “I’m happy to be staying at FC Bayern for another year. After my long injury, I’m back in full swing.
“It’s immense fun for me to be on the pitch with this team. I’m sure that, together with the fans, we can achieve our big goals in the coming years – and obviously the 2025 Champions League final in Munich is one of them.
“Knowing that I still have Sven by my side makes it even nicer.”
Tuchel was asked during his press conference about another long-serving Bayern stalwart, Thomas Muller, who has started only five games this season.
“He knows that he has the chance and he knows that I really rate him highly,” said Tuchel of the 34-year-old.
“He has my respect. Thomas is a playing legend at Bayern Munich. The players that play more really play very well at this time.
“Choupo (Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting) is a different type of player and we wanted to give him a chance. He is working hard to win games for us as well.
“Thomas should play from the start tomorrow. He’s obviously not happy, nobody’s happy at Bayern Munich when he’s sitting on the bench, but Thomas will be a special player.”
Copenhagen currently sit second in the group but are level on points with Galatasaray and only one ahead of Manchester United.
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