Football: Aubameyang heads Cup hosts Gabon squad

27 Dec, 2016

LIBREVILLE: Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina head Gabon's Africa Cup of Nations squad unveiled Tuesday by the hosts' manager Jose Antonio Camacho.

Also figuring in the 23-player list for the Jan 14-Feb 5 continental showpiece is Bruno Ecuele Manga, a defender with English Championship side Cardiff City, China-based striker Malick Evouna and Didier Ndong with Premier League strugglers Sunderland.

Gabon co-hosted the 2012 Nations Cup with Equatorial Guinea, making it into the quarter-finals.

The Panthers are drawn in Group A with Guinea-Bissau, four-time winners Cameroon and Burkina Faso, runners-up to Nigeria in 2013.

Gabon captain Aubameyang could lead his team as African Player of the Year should he retain his crown.

The 27-year-old French-born forward is on the shortlist with Leicester City and Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez and Liverpool and Senegal winger Sadio Mane with the winner announced on January 5.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Press), 2016

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