National team suffer shock defeat as decision to drop 'under pressure' Rangers star backfires
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Some Rangers fans might prefer their best players to be left at home during the international break.
The club footballing season is all ready chock-full of fixtures before throwing in all the travelling and extra matches associated with the international game.
It's enough to have Rangers fans – traumatised by the club's recent injury record – chewing their fingernails every time the international fortnight rolls around.
But one Ibrox star who was not selected for international duties this November might be smarting after his nation succumbed to a rare defeat without him in their squad.
Ivory Coast lose without Mohamed Diomande
Mohamed Diomande might've been surprised to have been dropped by the Ivory Coast for their latest AFCON Qualifying squad.
The 23-year-old Ivorian has been a mainstay in the Elephants set up ever since earning his first call-up to the team in March this year.
But after earning four caps for the Ivory Coast since then, Rangers star Diomande was dropped by the Ivory Coast ahead of an AFCON clash against Zambia in Ndola.
And it's a call that might well have backfired after the Ivory Coast succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to the Chipolopolo to let slip their lead at the top of AFCON Qualifying Group G.
With Zambia now one point clear of the Ivorians on ten points, the West African nation will need to better Zambia's result against Sierra Leone in a home clash against Chad.
Rangers star discusses Ibrox 'pressure'
Ivory Coast's decision to drop Mohamed Diomande will have turned a few heads in Rangers circles.
The Ibrox side signed Dio on an initial loan-to-buy deal from Danish outfit FC Nordsjælland, with the midfielder completing a £4.3m transfer in the summer.
But over Diomande's first 11 months in Glasgow, Rangers fans have only really seen flashes of the midfielder's clear technical ability.
Fans want more from Diomande, as they do with most of the Rangers squad, and the midfielder was open and frank about the need to improve in a recent interview.
"There's been a lot of pressure," Diomande said ahead of the Europa League clash with Olympiacos. "Obviously, we're not going to hide it.
"And we've had poor performances lately but it's all about bouncing back and I think we are on the right way to get to the level we expect of ourselves and the coaches, also in what the fans expect. So we're getting there."
