Côte d'Ivoire national football team

Côte d'Ivoire

Nickname(s)	Les Éléphants (The Elephants)
Association	Fédération Ivoirienne de Football
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Head coach	François Zahoui
Captain	Didier Drogba
Most caps	Didier Zokora (102)
Top scorer	Didier Drogba (54)
Home stadium	Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny
FIFA code	CIV
FIFA ranking	15
Highest FIFA ranking	14 (June 2011)
Lowest FIFA ranking	75 (March 2004)
Elo ranking	14
Highest Elo ranking	12 (February 2008)
Lowest Elo ranking	69 (October 1996)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Côte d'Ivoire 3–2 Dahomey (Madagascar; 13 April 1960)
Biggest win
Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Mali (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 13 March 1985) Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Botswana (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 11 October 1992) Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Niger (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 15 July 2000) Côte d'Ivoire 6–0 Madagascar (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 1 July 2001)
Biggest defeat
Côte d'Ivoire 2–6 Ghana (Côte d'Ivoire; 2 May 1971) Malawi 5–1 Côte d'Ivoire (Malawi; 6 July 1974)
World Cup
Appearances	2 (First in 2006)
Best result	Round 1, 2006, 2010
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	19 (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 or Ivory Coast National Football Team, nicknamed Les Éléphants ("The Elephants" in English), 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.

FIFA currently ranks Côte d'Ivoire first among African nations, seven places ahead of West African rival Ghana.

Honours

Africa Cup of Nations:

• Winner - 1992
• Runner-up - 2006, 2012
• Third place - 1965, 1968, 1986, 1994

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations

• Runner-up - 1993

CEDEAO Cup :

• Winner - 1983, 1987, 1991
• Runner-up - 1985

Toulon Tournament

• Winner - 2010

World Cup record

See also: Côte d'Ivoire at the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did Not Enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974	Did Not Qualify
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006	Group Stage	19th	3	1	0	2	5	6
2010	Group Stage	17th	3	1	1	1	4	3
Total	Group Stage	2/19	6	2	1	3	9	9

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Fourth Place	4th	2	0	0	2	2	9	Squad
1995	Did Not Qualify
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2009
2013	To Be Determined
2017
2021
Total	Fourth Place	1/8	2	0	0	2	2	9	-

Africa Cup of Nations record

Host nation(s) / Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1957	Did not enter
1959
1962
1963
1965	Third place	3	3	2	0	1	5	4
1968	Third place	3	5	3	1	1	9	6
1970	Fourth place	4	5	2	1	2	11	9
1972	Did not qualify
1974	Round 1	7	3	0	1	2	2	5
1976	Did not qualify
1978	Banned
1980	Round 1	6	3	0	2	1	2	3
1982	Did not enter
1984	Round 1	5	3	1	0	2	4	4
1986	Third place	3	5	3	0	2	7	5
1988	Round 1	6	3	0	3	0	2	2
1990	Round 1	6	3	1	0	2	3	5
1992	Winners	1	5	2	3	0	4	0
1994	Third place	3	5	3	1	1	11	5
1996	Round 1	11	3	1	0	2	2	5
1998	Quarterfinals	7	4	2	2	0	10	6
2000	Round 1	9	3	1	1	1	3	4
2002	Round 1	16	3	0	1	2	1	4
2004	Did not qualify
2006	Runners-up	2	6	3	2	1	6	5
2008	Fourth place	4	6	4	0	2	16	9
2010	Quarterfinals	8	3	1	2	0	5	4
2012	Runners-up	2	6	5	1	0	9	0
2013	Qualifying in process
2015	TBD
2017
Total	19/28	1 Title	77	34	21	22	112	85

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.

***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Forthcoming Fixture

Date	Venue	Home Team	Result	Away Team	Competition
January 22, 2012	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo	Côte d'Ivoire	1–0	Sudan	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
January 26, 2012	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo	Côte d'Ivoire	2–0	Burkina Faso	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
January 30, 2012	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo	Côte d'Ivoire	2–0	Angola	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
February 4, 2012	Nuevo Estadio de Malabo	Côte d'Ivoire	3–0	Equatorial Guinea	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
February 8, 2012	Stade d'Angondjé	Mali	0–1	Côte d'Ivoire	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
February 12, 2012	Stade d'Angondjé	Zambia	0–0	Côte d'Ivoire	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
May 26, 2012		Côte d'Ivoire		Senegal	Friendly match
June 1, 2013		Côte d'Ivoire		Tanzania	2014 World Cup qualification
June 8, 2013		Morocco		Côte d'Ivoire	2014 World Cup qualification

Coaches

• Philippe Troussier 1993
• Henri Michel 2004–2006
• Uli Stielike 2006–2008
• Gérard Gili, 2008 (interim), the under-23 coach acted as temporary replacement for Stielike
• Uli Stielike, 2008 (interim), on temporary contract expiring April 15, 2008
• Vahid Halilhodžić 2008–2010
• Sven-Göran Eriksson 2010
• François Zahoui 2010–

Players

Current squad

The following squad has been selected for the friendly match against Guinea on February 29, 2012.

Cap and goals updated as February 29, 2012.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Goalkeepers 1 GK Boubacar Barry (1979-12-30) 30 December 1979 62 0 Lokeren 23 GK Daniel Yeboah (1984-11-13) 13 November 1984 11 0 Dijon 16 GK Gérard Gnanhouan (1979-02-12) 12 February 1979 9 0 Avranches Defenders 17 DF Siaka Tiéné (1982-03-22) 22 March 1982 76 2 Paris Saint-Germain 3 DF Arthur Boka (1983-04-02) 2 April 1983 68 1 VfB Stuttgart 22 DF Sol Bamba (1985-01-13) 13 January 1985 28 2 Leicester City 2 DF Igor Lolo (1982-07-22) 22 July 1982 16 0 Kuban Krasnodar 8 DF Stephane Okou (1991-01-01) 1 January 1991 1 0 ASEC Mimosas Midfielders 18 MF Abdul Kader Keïta (1981-08-06) 6 August 1981 67 11 Al-Sadd 9 MF Cheick Tioté (1986-06-21) 21 June 1986 29 0 Newcastle United 4 MF Jean-Jacques Gosso (1983-03-15) 15 March 1983 18 0 Orduspor 15 MF Didier Konan Ya (1984-02-25) 25 February 1984 14 5 Hannover 96 5 MF Max Gradel (1987-11-30) 30 November 1987 12 0 Saint-Étienne Forwards 10 FW Gervinho (1987-05-27) 27 May 1987 38 8 Arsenal 7 FW Seydou Doumbia (1987-12-31) 31 December 1987 19 2 CSKA Moscow 12 FW Wilfried Bony (1988-12-10) 10 December 1988 13 4 Vitesse 20 FW Tiemoko Konate (1990-03-03) 3 March 1990 0 0 Africa Sports National

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Ibrahim Koné (1989-12-05) 5 December 1989 0 0 Boulogne 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (preliminary squad) GK Badra Ali Sangaré (1986-05-30) 30 May 1986 1 0 Séwé Sports de San Pedro v. Burundi, 9 October 2011 DF Benjamin Angoua (1986-11-28) 28 November 1986 13 1 Valenciennes 2012 Africa Cup of Nations DF Kolo Touré (1981-03-19) 19 March 1981 96 5 Manchester City 2012 Africa Cup of Nations DF Emmanuel Eboué (1983-06-04) 4 June 1983 69 3 Galatasaray 2012 Africa Cup of Nations DF Steve Gohouri (1981-02-08) 8 February 1981 13 3 Wigan Athletic v. Burundi, 9 October 2011 DF Brice Dja Djedjé (1990-12-23) 23 December 1990 0 0 Evian v. Rwanda, 3 September 2011 DF Guy Demel (1981-06-13) 13 June 1981 34 0 West Ham United v. Israel, 11 August 2011 MF Didier Zokora (1980-12-14) 14 December 1980 102 1 Trabzonspor 2012 Africa Cup of Nations MF Kafoumba Coulibaly (1985-10-26) 26 October 1985 10 0 Nice 2012 Africa Cup of Nations MF Yaya Touré (1983-05-13) 13 May 1983 67 10 Manchester City 2012 Africa Cup of Nations MF Marco Né (1983-07-17) 17 July 1983 1 0 Tavriya Simferopol 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (preliminary squad) MF Moussa Koné (1990-02-12) 12 February 1990 1 1 Pescara v. Rwanda, 3 September 2011 MF Romaric (1983-06-04) 4 June 1983 38 5 Espanyol v. Benin, 5 June 2011 MF Emerse Faé (1984-01-24) 24 January 1984 45 1 Nice v. Mali, 8 February 2011 FW Salomon Kalou (1985-08-05) 5 August 1985 47 16 Chelsea 2012 Africa Cup of Nations FW Didier Drogba (1978-03-11) 11 March 1978 84 54 Chelsea 2012 Africa Cup of Nations FW Serges Déblé (1989-10-01) 1 October 1989 0 0 FC Khimki v. Israel, 11 August 2011 FW Adama Bakayoko (1986-01-01) 1 January 1986 0 0 ASEC Mimosas v. Benin, 27 March 2011

Previous squads

• 2006 African Cup of Nations squad
• 2006 FIFA World Cup squad

Côte d'Ivoire was the only nation to name a 23-man World Cup squad composed 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 3–1 win over Sudan, while Cameroon faltered and could only manage a 1–1 draw at home to Egypt.

The qualification of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team even brought about a temporary peace agreement during the First Ivorian Civil War. The team helped to secure a truce in 2006 when they qualified, bringing warring parties together, and convinced President Laurent Gbagbo to restart peace talks.

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.

FIFA World Cup 2010

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup Group G

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

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

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2010-06-25 16:00 UTC+2	North Korea	0 – 3	Côte d'Ivoire	Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit Attendance: 34,763 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
		Report	Yaya Touré  14' Romaric  20' Kalou  82'

Team 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 North Korea 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 Brazil, Portugal, and North Korea. Côte d'Ivoire finished third in Group G, as Brazil and Portugal progressed.

See Also

• Côte d'Ivoire national under-20 football team

External links

• Côte d'Ivoire Association — official website
• Côte d'Ivoire at FIFA.com
• ElephantsOnline — supporters' website