Cote d’Ivoire enter Africa’s festive football period, the Cup of Nations, as the continent’s highest-ranked country in the FIFA Rankings. The West African giants, nicknamed “Les Elephants”, are 16th above Switzerland and behind France.
The Ivoirians comfortably seat (with 151 points) above rivals and second-placed Ghana in the CAF section of the world’s chart. Will they, under the guidance of coach Francois Zahoui and captain Didier Drogba, make their authority count at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations?
The Elephants – Big size, big worries
Ivory Coast don’t have much to boast about in terms of Nations Cup history. Their only triumph dates from 1992. They qualified from their group above Congo and Algeria to reach the quarterfinals. At that stage, they met the Zambians whom they narrowly edged after extra time.
The battle was harder against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the semis. Spot-kicks were needed define the winner. Ivory Coast went on to defeat Ghana in a 11-10 penalty shoot-out game in the final. January 26 will mark exactly 20 years since the Elephants’ first and last conquest of the African continent.
Cote d’Ivoire fell short of matching this feat in 2006 when they finished as runners-up behind host nation Egypt. Like it happened in 1998, the Elephants couldn’t go past the Last 8 in the previous edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The summary of Cote d’Ivoire’s AFCON record reminds that the Elephants are 4-time bronze winners. They started their Nations Cup adventure on a promising note by claiming the third position in 1965 and in 1968.
Two years later, the Ivoirians suffered a setback in their progress as they finished fourth behind the United Arab Republic. From there, the Elephants’ history encountered many tribulations. Ivory Coast will be making their 19th appearance this year.
Ivory Coast at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
Ivory Coast’s strength on paper is widely acclaimed. They’ve been blessed with great talents among their squad. The current generation of players is the envy of numerous coaches. Didier Drogba, reigning CAF player of the year winner Yaya Toure, Salomon Kalou and Gervinho bolster the national team with English Premier League experience. These stars have been playing together for years now.
Skipper Didier Drogba is nearing the end of his international career and the Elephants must prepare for life after him. But before this happens, will the Ivoirians achieve Africa Cup of Nations glory at last?
It was all too easy for Cote d’Ivoire throughout the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign. They ended it with a perfect record as Rwanda, Burundi and Benin were left with no chance. Sudan, Burkina Faso and Angola will see to survive the earthquake caused by the mighty Elephants in the group stages of the 2012 AFCON.
The Ivoirians are known to fail when it matters most on the big stage. They did it in Egypt 2006, in Ghana 2008 and in Angola 2010 whereas they were expected to win gold. What will the Elephants do in the absence of giants Cameroun, Nigeria and Egypt in Gabon-Equatorial Guinea?
Ivory Coast's 2012 AFCON squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Copa Barry, Gerard Gnanhouan, Daniel Yeboah
Defenders: Benjamin Angoua, Sol Bamba, Boka Athur, Emmanuel Eboue, Lolo Igor, Siaka Tiene, Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora
Midfielders: Tioté Cheick, Kafoumba Coulibaly, Gosso Gosso, Max Gradel, Ya Konan, Yaya Toure
Forwards: Seydou Doumbia, Didier Drogba, Gervinho, Kader Keïta, Salomon Kalou, Bony Wilfried
Read next team profile - Libya.
