Côte d'Ivoire national football team

Côte d'Ivoire
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Les Éléphants
(The Elephants)
Association Fédération Ivoirienne
de Football
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach François Zahoui
Captain Didier Drogba
Most caps Didier Zokora (90)
Top scorer Didier Drogba (45)
Home stadium Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny
FIFA code CIV
FIFA ranking 26
Highest FIFA ranking 16 (November 2009)
Lowest FIFA ranking 75 (March 2004)
Elo ranking 24
Highest Elo ranking 12 (February 6, 2008)
Lowest Elo ranking 69 (October 1996)
Home colours
Away colours
First international
Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 3–2 Dahomey 
(Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Mali 
(Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 13 March 1985)
Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Botswana 
(Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 11 October 1992)
Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Niger 
(Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 15 July 2000)
Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Madagascar 
(Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 1 July 2001)
Biggest defeat
Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 2–6 Ghana 
(Côte d'Ivoire; 2 May 1971)
 Malawi 5–1 Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire
(Malawi; 6 July 1974)
World Cup
Appearances 2 (First in 2006)
Best result Round 1, 2006 and 2010
African Cup of Nations
Appearances 18 (First in 1965)
Best result Winners, 1992
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1992)
Best result 4th, 1992

The Côte d'Ivoire National Football Team, nicknamed Les Éléphants ("The Elephants" in French), represents Côte d'Ivoire (commonly known as Ivory Coast in English) in international football and is controlled by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Football. Until 2005, their greatest accomplishment was winning the 1992 African Cup of Nations against Ghana on penalties at the Stade Leopold Senghor in Dakar, Senegal.

They have qualified for two World Cups, first in Germany in 2006, losing to Argentina and the Netherlands and beating Serbia and Montenegro as they failed to progress beyond the group stage. They qualified again for South Africa in 2010 and did not get through the group stage again.

Contents

Honours

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations :
  • 1 Time Runners-up
CEDEAO Cup :
  • 3 Times Champion (1983, 1987, 1991)
  • 1 Time Runners-up
Toulon Tournament
  • 1 Time champion (2010)

World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
1930 to 1970 Did not enter - - - - - - -
1974 to 2002 Did not qualify - - - - - - -
2006 Round 1 19 3 1 0 2 5 6
2010 Round 1 17 3 1 1 1 4 3
Total 2/19 6 2 1 3 9 9

FIFA Confederations Cup record

Year Round GP W D L GS GA
1992 Fourth place 2 0 0 2 2 9
1995 to 2009 Did not qualify - - - - - -
Total 1/8 2 0 0 2 2 9

African Nations Cup record

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 1
Appearances: 18
Year Position Year Position Year Position
Sudan 1957 Did not enter Ethiopia 1976 Did not qualify Tunisia 1994 Third Place
Egypt 1959 Did not enter Ghana 1978 Disqualified South Africa 1996 Round 1
Ethiopia 1962 Did not enter Nigeria 1980 Round 1 Burkina Faso 1998 Quarterfinals
Ghana 1963 Did not enter Libya 1982 Did not enter GhanaNigeria 2000 Round 1
Tunisia 1965 Third place Côte d'Ivoire 1984 Round 1 Mali 2002 Round 1
Ethiopia 1968 Third Place Egypt 1986 Third Place Tunisia 2004 Did not qualify
Sudan 1970 Fourth Place Morocco 1988 Round 1 Egypt 2006 Runners-Up
Cameroon 1972 Did not qualify Algeria 1990 Round 1 Ghana 2008 Fourth place
Egypt 1974 Round 1 Senegal 1992 Champions Angola 2010 Quarterfinals

Coaches

Players

Current squad

20 man squad who played Rwanda on 3 September. Caps and goals updated as 10 August, 2010.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club
GK Boubacar Barry 30 December 1979 (aged 30) 50 0 Belgium Lokeren
GK Daniel Yeboah 13 November 1984 (aged 25) 5 0 Côte d'Ivoire ASEC Mimosas
DF Kolo Touré 19 March 1981 (aged 29) 85 4 England Manchester City
DF Sol Bamba 13 January 1985 (aged 25) 17 2 Scotland Hibernian
DF Guy Demel 13 June 1981 (aged 29) 30 0 Germany Hamburg
DF Arthur Boka 2 April 1983 (aged 27) 55 1 Germany Stuttgart
DF Steve Gohouri 8 February 1981 (aged 29) 12 3 England Wigan Athletic
DF Siaka Tiéné 22 March 1982 (aged 28) 60 2 France Valenciennes
DF Emmanuel Eboué 4 June 1983 (aged 27) 58 1 England Arsenal
MF Didier Zokora 14 December 1980 (aged 29) 90 1 Spain Sevilla
MF Yaya Touré 13 May 1983 (aged 27) 50 6 England Manchester City
MF Emerse Faé 24 January 1984 (aged 26) 41 1 France Nice
MF Romaric 4 June 1983 (aged 27) 33 4 Spain Sevilla
MF Cheick Tioté 21 June 1986 (aged 24) 15 0 England Newcastle United
MF Emmanuel Koné 31 December 1986 (aged 23) 13 0 Romania Cluj
MF Kafoumba Coulibaly 26 September 1985 (aged 24) 2 0 France Nice
FW Seydou Doumbia 31 December 1987 (aged 22) 6 2 Russia CSKA Moscow
FW Salomon Kalou 5 August 1985 (aged 24) 34 12 England Chelsea
FW Gervinho 27 May 1987 (aged 23) 18 4 France Lille
FW Yannick Sagbo 12 April 1988 (aged 22) 1 0 France Monaco

Recent call-ups

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club
GK Vincent Angban 2 February 1985 (aged 25) 2 0 Côte d'Ivoire ASEC Mimosas
GK Ibrahim Koné December 5, 1989 (1989-12-05) (age 21) 0 0 France Boulogne
GK Aristide Zogbo 30 December 1981 (aged 28) 6 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya
GK Badra Ali Sangaré May 30, 1986 (1986-05-30) (age 24) Belgium Olympic Charleroi
GK Stephan Loboué August 23, 1981 (1981-08-23) (age 29) 3 0 Germany Greuther Fürth
DF Abdoulaye Méïté 6 October 1980 (aged 29) 48 1 England West Bromwich Albion
DF Igor Lolo 22 July 1982 (aged 27) 9 0 Monaco Monaco
DF Diarrasouba Viera December 21, 1986 (1986-12-21) (age 24) 0 0 Romania Internaţional
DF Marco Zoro December 27, 1983 (1983-12-27) (age 27) 21 1 Portugal Benfica
DF Bakary Soro December 5, 1985 (1985-12-05) (age 25) 0 0 France Lorient
DF Benjamin Angoua 28 November 1986 (aged 23) 7 1 France Valenciennes
DF Constant Djakpa 17 September 1986 (aged 23) 3 0 Germany Hannover 96
MF Cissé Abdouljabbar Ousmane January 28, 1989 (1989-01-28) (age 22) 23 5 France Istres
MF Jean-Jacques Gosso 15 March 1983 (aged 27) 7 0 Monaco Monaco
MF Abdul Kader Keïta 6 August 1981 (aged 28) 56 11 Qatar Al-Sadd
MF Kanga Akalé March 7, 1981 (1981-03-07) (age 29) 33 3 France Lens
MF Christian Manfredini May 1, 1975 (1975-05-01) (age 35) 1 0 Italy Lazio
MF Felix Dja Ettien September 26, 1979 (1979-09-26) (age 31) 6 1 Unattached
MF Kafoumba Coulibaly October 26, 1985 (1985-10-26) (age 25) 1 0 France Nice
MF Lionel Bah February 2, 1980 (1980-02-02) (age 31) 4 0 Romania Astra Ploieşti
MF Did'dy Guela June 19, 1986 (1986-06-19) (age 24) 0 0 Germany Arminia Bielefeld
MF Gilles Yapi Yapo 30 January 1982 (aged 28) 46 3 Switzerland Basel
MF Didier Konan Ya 25 February 1984 (aged 26) 3 0 Germany Hannover 96
FW Didier Drogba (captain) 11 March 1978 (aged 32) 71 45 England Chelsea
FW Lacina Traoré 20 May 1990 (aged 19) 0 0 Romania Cluj
FW Sekou Cissé May 23, 1985 (1985-05-23) (age 25) 4 3 Netherlands Feyenoord
FW Boubacar Sanogo December 17, 1982 (1982-12-17) (age 28) 12 8 France Saint-Étienne
FW Amara Diané August 19, 1982 (1982-08-19) (age 28) 1 1 Qatar Al-Rayyan
FW Bonaventure Kalou January 12, 1978 (1978-01-12) (age 33) 51 12 Netherlands Heerenveen
FW Guillaume Dah Zadi June 1, 1978 (1978-06-01) (age 32) 1 0 Unattached
FW Aruna Dindane 26 November 1980 (aged 29) 61 16 Qatar Lekhwiya
FW Bakary Koné 11 November 1983 (aged 26) 42 9 Qatar Lekhwiya

Previous squads

Côte d'Ivoire was the only nation to name a 23-man World Cup squad comprised entirely of players who play their club football outside their home country.

2006 World Cup information

Côte d'Ivoire qualified through a qualifying group which included African powerhouses Cameroon and Egypt, despite losing home and away to the former. On the last day of qualification, they confirmed their spot with a 4–1 win over Sudan, while Cameroon faltered and could only manage a 1–1 draw at home to Egypt.

Côte d'Ivoire lost their opening game 2–1 in the 2006 World Cup in Germany to an Argentine side. The goals for Argentina came from Hernán Crespo and Javier Saviola. Côte d'Ivoire's goal came from Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. They lost their second match to the Netherlands by the same scoreline and were thus eliminated from the tournament. The Netherlands' goals came from a Robin van Persie free-kick in the 23rd minute and a Ruud van Nistelrooy strike in the 27th minute. Bakari Koné scored in the 38th minute for the Africans to pull the score to 2–1. Côte d'Ivoire's final game was against Serbia and Montenegro. The Serbian team scored two quick goals and it appeared that the Côte d'Ivoire was destined for a three-loss World Cup campaign. However, the Africans came back, led by two goals from Aruna Dindane, and won the game 3–2 to finish in third place.

2010 World Cup Qualification

On 10 October 2009, Côte d'Ivoire secured a place at the 2010 World Cup after Didier Drogba struck within two minutes of coming on as a substitute to clinch a 1–1 draw with Malawi.[1]

FIFA World Cup 2010


2010-06-15
16:00 UTC+2
Côte d'Ivoire  0 – 0  Portugal Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Attendance: 78,944

2010-06-20
13:30 UTC+2
Brazil  3 – 1  Côte d'Ivoire Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 84,455
Referee: Stephane Lannoy
Drogba Goal 79'

2010-06-25
16:00 UTC+2
Korea DPR  0 – 3  Côte d'Ivoire Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Attendance: 34,763
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Report Yaya Touré Goal 14'
Romaric Goal 20'
Kalou Goal 82'
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Brazil 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
 Portugal 3 1 2 0 7 0 +7 5
 Côte d'Ivoire 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
 Korea DPR 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0

Trivia

The Côte d'Ivoire team is notable for having participated in (and won) the two highest-scoring penalty shoot-outs in international football competition – the 24-shot shoot-out in the final of the 1992 African Cup of Nations when Ghana was defeated 11–10, and the 24-shot shoot-out in the quarter-final of the 2006 African Cup of Nations, when Cameroon was defeated 12–11.

After Uli Stielike left before the Africa Cup 2008, due to his son's health situation, Gerard Gili, the co-trainer, took his position. To compensate of the lack of another co-coach, Didier Drogba acted as a player-coach. This was only the second time that a player had also acted as coach in the Africa Cup, after George Weah was both player and coach for Liberia during the 2002 tournament.

In both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, Côte d'Ivoire were placed in a so called "Group of Death." In 2006, Côte d'Ivoire faced Argentina, Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro; Argentina and Netherlands reached the Round of 16. In 2010, Côte d'Ivoire was drawn with Brasil, Portugal, and North Korea. Côte d'Ivoire finished third in Group G, as Brazil and Portugal progressed.

References

  1. "Ivory Coast qualify for 2010 World Cup finals". ESPN. 2009-10-10. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=262941&cc=5739. Retrieved 2009-10-15. 

External links