Côte d'Ivoire national football team

The Côte d'Ivoire national football team (sometimes written "Ivory Coast" in English), nicknamed Les Éléphants (The Elephants), is the national team of Côte d'Ivoire 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 de l'Amitie in Dakar, Senegal.

On October 8, 2005, they qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, marking their first appearance on the sport's greatest stage. Despite their obvious skill and determination, they were unable to qualify for the second round after losing to experienced teams such as Argentina and Netherlands. They did manage to win one game in Germany, against Serbia and Montenegro, coming back from down 0-2 to win 3-2 on a late penalty kick by Bonaventure Kalou but it was too late for them to be able to make it to the next round.

World Cup record

1930 to 1970 - Did not enter
1974 - Did not qualify
1978 - Did not qualify
1982 - Did not enter
1986 to 2002 - Did not qualify
2006 - Round 1

African Nations Cup record

1957 to 1963 - Did not enter
1965 - First Place
1968 - Third place
1970 - Fourth place
1972 - Did not qualfy
1974 - Round 1
1976 - Did not qualify
1978 - Disqualified
1980 - Round 1
1982 - Did not enter
1984 - Round 1

1986 - Third place
1990 - Round 1
1992 - Champions
1994 - Third place
1996 - Round 1
1998 - Quarterfinals
2000 - Round 1
2002 - Round 1
2004 - Did not qualify
2006 - Runner Up

Famous past players

Laurent Pokou: the African Cup highest scorer of all time
Yousouf Falikou Fofana: "The Black Diamond of Monaco"
Abdoulaye Traore: named as one of the greatest forwards in the world several times in the 1990s.

2006 World Cup Squad

Head coach: Henri Michel

Espérance}} AJ Auxerre}} RC Strasbourg}} Arsenal}} Tottenham Hotspur }} Troyes}} Nantes Atlantique}} Paris Saint-Germain}} PSV Eindhoven}} Young Boys}} Chelsea}} Bolton Wanderers}} Messina}} OGC Nice}} RC Lens}} Montepellier}} US Creteil}} Lille OSC}} Olympiakos}} Hamburger SV}} Arsenal}} Le Mans}} KSK Beveren}}

(*=Captain)

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

The Côte d'Ivoire lost their opening game 2-1 in the World Cup in Germany to an Argentine side seeded one place above them. The goals for Argentina came from Chelsea's Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola of Sevilla. Ivory Coast's goal came from another Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba. Despite dominating Holland for long periods, they lost their second match by the same scoreline and were thus eliminated from the tourament. Goals for Holland: Robin Van Persie at the 23rd minute on free-kick, Ruud Van Nistelrooij at the 27th minute. Goal for Ivory Coast: Bakary Kone at the 38th minute.

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 21-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.

External links

Côte d'Ivoire Association - official website
Reports on Ivory Coast Matches at the 2006 World Cup

African national football teams | Football in Côte d'Ivoire