Guinea coach drops Diawarra

Diawarra played at the last Nations Cup finals in Egypt

Kaba Diawarra is the surprise omission from Guinea's provisional squad for the Nations Cup in Ghana next month.

French coach Robert Nouzaret named 35 players but the list will be reduced to 23 after a training camp in Spain.

All but two of the players called up by Nouzaret are based at clubs outside the West African country.

"I have chosen players who are better than him at the moment", Nouzaret told reporters after the announcement.

Diawara, the former Arsenal and Olympique Marseille striker , was a member of the Guinea side that reached the Nations Cup quarter-finals in 2006 in Egypt.

Guinea play the opening game of the 2008 finals against hosts Ghana in Accra on 20 January.

Squad:

Goalkeepers:
Hamidou Camara (AS Kaloum), Kemoko Camara (unattached), Naby Diarso (Satellite FC), Naby Yattara (RACS Couillet)

Defenders:
Dianbobo Balde (Celtic), Habib Jean Balde (Reims), Alseny Camara (Rodez), Ibrahima Camara (Le Mans), Kevin Constant (Toulouse), Ibrahim Diallo (Charleroi), Mohamed Alimou Diallo (Sivaspor), Daouda Jabi (Trabonzspor), Oumar Kalabane (Manisaspor), Kamil Zayatte (Young Boys Berne)

Midfielders:
Mamadou Bah (Racing Strasbourg), Ibrahima Bangoura (Troyes), Mangue Camara (Rouen), Minka Yady Camara (Le Mans), Mohamed Cisse (Bursaspor), Pascal Feindouno (St Etienne), Samuel Johnson (Ismaili), Mohamed Sacko (Etoile Sahel), Ibrahima Souare (Martigues), Naby Soumah (CS Sfaxien), Kanfory Sylla (Sivaspor), Larsen Toure (Lille), Ibrahim Yattara (Trabzonspor)

Strikers:
Ismael Bangoura (Dynamo Kiev), Mohamed Karba Bangoura (Olympique Khouribga), Sambegou Bangoura (Boavista), Karamoko Cisse (Verona), Victor Correa (Cherbourg), Alhassane Keita (Al Ittihad Jeddah), Fode Mansare (Toulouse), Souleymane Youla (Lille)