Nouhou called into Cameroon's Africa Cup of Nations team

Nouhou has been called into Cameroon's Africa Cup of Nations team, it was announced on Thursday. The tournament starts on Jan. 13 and concludes on Feb. 11, meaning Nouhou will miss at least part of Seattle Sounders preseason and potentially most of it.

Cameroon begins group play on Jan. 15 against Guinea, then plays Senegal on Jan. 19 and Gambia on Jan. 23. Nouhou was among the breakout stars at the 2022 tournament, helping lead Cameroon to a third-place finish when they were hosts. After winning their group, they beat Comoros in the Round of 16, Gambia in the quarterfinals and most notably held Mo Salah's Egypt scoreless in the semifinals before falling in a penalty shootout. They then beat Burkina Faso in a shootout to claim third.

The tournament was originally scheduled to take place during the summer to avoid conflicts with most European seasons, but intense heat in the Ivory Coast forced it to be rescheduled. It marks the third straight time the tournament has been rescheduled and the second consecutive time that the cause was adverse weather conditions.