Football: Aubameyang Heads Cup Hosts Gabon Squad

LIBREVILLE, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Dec, 2016 ) - 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.