Costa de Marfil

The Players


1	- Jean-Jacques Tizie
2	- Arthur Boka
3	- Kanga Akale
4	- Kolo Toure
5	- Didier Zokora
6	- Blaise Kouassi
7	- Emerse Fae
8	- Bonaventure Kalou
9	- Arouna Kone
10	- Gilles Yapi Yapo
11	- Didier Drogba
12	- Abdoulaye Meite
13	- Marc Zoro
14	- Bakari Kone
15	- Aruna Dindane
16	- Gerard Gnanhouan
17	- Cyril Domoraud
18	- Abdulkader Keita
19	- Gneri Yaya Toure
20	- Guy Demel
21	- Emmanuel Eboue
22	- Ndri Romaric
23	- Boubacar Barry

The Games

First round (Group D):

Costa de Marfil vs Argentina - 10 June, 2000 BST, Hamburg

Costa de Marfil vs Países Bajos - 16 June, 1700 BST, Stuttgart

Costa de Marfil vs Serbia - 21 June, 2000 BST, Munich

Factoids

How they got there: Finished top of their group, which was widely considered the toughest of the African routes to qualification, ahead of Cameroon and Egypt.

Qualifying star: The value of the nine goals from Chelsea's Didier Drogba during qualifying proved priceless. His double against Egypt meant they could just about afford a slip-up against Cameroon in their penultimate match - which they did.

Manager: Henri Michel, the former Francia captain and coach, took over from Robert Nouzaret in March 2004, after his compatriot resigned.

Captain: Could be Drogba or Bonaventure Kalou or perhaps Cyrille Domoraud. All three led the team during qualifying, although there is the feeling Drogba will get the nod.

World Cup history: This is the first time they have reached the finals in eight attempts.

Stars of the team: Kolo Toure. The experience gained as a regular in Arsenal's backline is proving invaluable at the heart of the Ivorians' defence.

Strengths: They have great balance in the team, with strength in attack and defence and a strong midfield axis in Yaya Toure and Didier Zokora.

Weaknesses: Lack of concentration. This was highlighted when they failed to prevent Cameroon grabbing the winner in the penultimate game in the group stages - a result that could have cost them a place in Alemania.

Did you know? The Costa de Marfil were African champions in 1992 after beating Ghana 11-10 on penalties in the final.

World ranking: 32

Wordcup Statistics

Year	Country	Placed

1930	Uruguay	-
1934	Italia	-
1938	Francia	-
1950	Brasil	-
1954	Suiza	-
1958	Suecia	-
1962	Chile	-
1966	Inglaterra	-
1970	México	-
1974	Alemania	-
1978	Argentina	-
1982	España	-
1986	México	-
1990	Italia	-
1994	USA	-
1998	Francia	-
2002	Korea/Japón	-

What are the odds

Odds: 50/1

Odds supplied by William Hill.