Wolves trio Rayan Ait-Nouri, Boubacar Traore and Hee Chan Hwang have all departed Molineux to join up with their countries ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup.
All three featured in Wolves’ final match of 2023, as Gary O’Neil’s side beat Everton 3-0 at Molineux on Saturday, but now head away for international duty, which could run until February.
Ait-Nouri will compete at AFCON for the first time, having switched to Algeria in 2023 and helped them qualify for the competition, which will be held in the Ivory Coast this year.
Traore has played once for the Mali senior team, in a 2022 friendly, and has been named in their preliminary squad, with the full squad to be announced soon.
Hwang departs with 11 Old Gold goals to his name this season – his most successful yet at Molineux – and his form has helped build excitement for the Asian Cup, hosted in Qatar.
Rayan Ait-Nouri | Algeria
Algeria face one warm-up match against Burundi on 9th January, before they turn their attention to AFCON. In 2022, Algeria went out in the group stages, having taken one point from nine, but qualification for this year’s competition has been smooth. They drew one and won five of their six qualifying matches, securing top spot in the process and Ait-Nouri featured in two of those matches. They’ve been drawn into a group with Angola, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
- Monday 15th January, 8pm | Algeria vs Angola
- Saturday 20th January, 2pm | Algeria vs Burkina Faso
- Tuesday 23rd January, 8pm | Mauritania vs Algeria
Boubacar Traore | Mali
Mali’s preparations for AFCON take place at the weekend, when they face Guinea-Bissau in a friendly. They comfortably booked their place in the finals by winning five of their six qualification matches, seeing them finish top, ahead of Gambia. Two years ago Mali reached the round of 16, only to go out on penalties to Equatorial Guinea. This year they face South Africa, Tunisia and Namibia, with AFCON kicking off on 16th January for Mali.
- Tuesday 16th January, 8pm | Mali vs South Africa
- Saturday 20th January, 8pm | Tunisia vs Mali
- Wednesday 24th January, 5pm | Namibia vs Mali
Hee Chan Hwang | South Korea
South Korea face Iraq in a friendly on Saturday, before all eyes turn to the Asian Cup. Five years ago they lost to Qatar in the quarter-finals, but they have high hopes this term. Jurgen Klinsmann’s side went unbeaten during qualification, scoring 22 goals in their six matches. Hwang has scored in two of his previous three internationals. They’re now in a group with Barain, Jordan and Malaysia.
- Monday 15th January, 11.30am | South Korea vs Bahrain
- Saturday 20th January, 11.30am | Jordan vs South Korea
- Thursday 25th January, 11.30am | South Korea vs Malaysia
