Chelsea star Didier Drogba was chosen to captain the 23-man Ivory Coast squad that was picked out by coach Henri Michel for their friendly match against Spain that will take place in Valladolid on Wednesday. The French caretaker kept the majority of the side that reached the 2006 African Cup of Nations (ACN) final against champions Egypt. Nevertheless, a number of players who feature in Ivory Coast's African Cup campaign were left out for different reasons, including striker Aruna Dindane, midfielders Gilles Yapi Yapo, Guy Demel, Siaka Tiene and defender Marc Zoro. On the other hand, Lazio's Christian Mandredini call-up to the national squad comes as a surprise, given that the player had previously confirmed that he had no interest in playing for them. Striker Abdul Kader Keita, midfielder Tchiressoua Guel and striker Kandia Traore were also recalled to the Ivory Coast squad, while goalkeeper Stephan Loboue earned his first call-up. Ivory Coast, who make their debut in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, were drawn with Argentina, Holland and Serbia & Montenegro. The Ivory Coast Squad: Goalkeepers: Jean-Jacques Tizie (Esperance/Tunisia), Boubacar Barry Copa (KSK Beveren/Belgium), Stephan Loboue (Paderborn/Germany) Defenders: Cyril Domoraud (US Creteil/France), Blaise Kouassi (Troyes/France), Abdoulaye Meite (Marseille/France), Etienne Boka (Strasbourg/France), Abib Kolo Toure (Arsenal/England), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal/France), Seydou Badjan Kante (Beveren/Belgium) Midfielders: Didier Zokora (St-Etienne/France), Emerse Fae (Nantes/France), Kanga Akale (Auxerre/France), Ndri Koffi (Le Mans/France), Gnegneri Toure (Olympiakos/Greece), Christian Manfredini (Lazio/Italy), Tchiressoua Guel (Lorient/France) Forwards: Bakary Kone (Nice/France), Didier Drogba (Chelsea/England), Arouna Kone (PSV Eindhoven/Holland), Bonaventure Kalou (Paris Saint-Germain/France), Abdul Kader Keita (Lille/France), Kandia Traore (Le Havre/France)