Ivory Coast national football team


The Ivory Coast national football team, represents Ivory Coast, formally the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, in men's international football. Nicknamed the Elephants, the team is managed by the Ivorian Football Federation. Until 2005, their greatest accomplishment was winning the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations against Ghana on penalties at the Stade Leopold Senghor in Dakar, Senegal. Their second success came in the 2015, again defeating Ghana on penalties in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football.
The team had their best run between 2006 and 2014 when they qualified for three consecutive FIFA World Cups.
There are many notable Ivorian internationals who have played in Europe, including Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré, Emmanuel Eboué, Wilfried Bony, Seydou Doumbia, Gervinho, Eric Bailly, Serge Aurier, Nicolas Pépé, Maxwel Cornet, Wilfried Zaha, Kolo Touré, Salomon Kalou and Franck Kessié. Having become a fixed presence in the World Cup and having won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, the team is generally considered to be one of the best African teams of the last decade and Didier Drogba being the best African Footballer. This is also confirmed by FIFA Ranking in the reference period, never having been so high for Les Éléphants.

History

1960s

The team played its first international match against Dahomey it became Benin later on they won 32 on 13 April 1960 in Madagascar.
The team got a huge 110 victory against Central African Republic in 1961, the team made a first appearance of the Africa Cup of Nations after gaining Independence from France, the team made it to third places in 1963 and 1965 Africa Cup of Nations.

1970s

In the 1970 Africa Cup of Nations the team played against Cameroon 32 and the following match they won 10 against Sudan, They went on and won 61 against Ethiopia and they lost 21 against Ghana and they went on and finish fourth place.
In 1972 Africa Cup of Nations the team failed to qualify to the finals, they qualified for the next tournament before missing the previous one. but they also failed to qualify for the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations, in 1978 they were banned due to circumstances.

1980s

In 1984 Africa Cup of Nations the team hosted the tournament by finishing in the group stage. in the 1986 AFCON they played against Mozambique which the match ended to a 30 victory in the following match they played their match against Egypt which ended to a 20 and they won against Senegal 1-0 and the team went on and finished third place.

1990s

The team also qualified in the 1992 AFCON, they beat Algeria 30 and they drew against Congo 00 and they went on to the final and win the trophy for the first time.

2000s and World Cup debut

In 2005 the team made a qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup debut by defeating Sudan 31 in the World Cup qualifies in November,
The team played their first match against Argentina they lost 21 in Hamburg, they played their second match against Holland the match ended to a 21 defeat in Stuttgart and they played their last match against Serbia and Montenegro which ended to a 32 victory for the first world cup win in München, The team was eliminated and finished third in the group.

2010s

They qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they were drawn in Group G with five champions Brazil, North Korea and Portugal, They played their first match against Portugal which the match ended to a 00 in Port Elizabeth, They played their second match against Brazil which the match ended to a 31 defeat in Johannesburg, they played their last match against North Korea which need to win and Brazil beat Portugal, but Portugal and Brazil drew the match, the match which ended to a 30 victory in Mbombela, which eliminates them out of the group stages for the second time.

2014

The team made a third appearance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, They were drawn in Group C with Colombia, Greece and Japan, they played their first opening match against Japan the match ended to a 21 victory in Recife, They played their second match against Colombia the match ended to a 21 defeat in Brasilia, they played their last match against Greece which would give them a chance to qualify to the knockout stages in the World Cup but the match ended to a 21 defeat in Fortaleza, The team was eliminated from the group stages for the third time.
The team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia after losing 20 against Morocco in the World Cup qualifying and the team is rebuilding their squad after the World Cup failure.

Home stadium

is a national stadium of Ivory Coast national team.
The team plays most of its FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against African teams like Algeria, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and many more
They've been playing their friendly matches and qualifying matches and training at their stadium since it was opened.

Competitive record

FIFA Confederations Cup

Africa Cup of Nations

African Nations Championship

African Games

CECAFA Cup

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2019

2020

Coaches

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Niger on 16 November 2019 and against Ethiopia on 19 November 2019.
''Caps and goals updated as of 19 November 2019, after the match against Ethiopia.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months and are still eligible to represent.
The Ivory Coast team is notable for having participated in 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. In 2015, Ivory Coast once again defeated Ghana in the final of an 2015 African Cup of Nations with a 22-shot shoot-out, winning 9–8.
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, Ivory Coast were placed in a so-called "Group of Death". In 2006, Ivory Coast faced Argentina, Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro; Argentina and Netherlands reached the Round of 16. In 2010, Ivory Coast was drawn with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea. Ivory Coast finished third in Group G, as Brazil and Portugal progressed.

Most capped players

#NameInternational CareerCapsGoals
1.Didier Zokora2000–20141231
2.Kolo Touré2000–20151207
3.Didier Drogba2002–201410565
4.Yaya Touré2004–201510119
5.Siaka Tiéné2000–20151002
6.Salomon Kalou2007–9728
7.Abdoulaye Traoré1984–19968850
8.Arthur Boka2004–2015871
9.Boubacar Barry2000–2015860
10.Gervinho2007–8422

Top goalscorers

#NameInternational CareerGoalsCaps
1.Didier Drogba2002–201465105
2.Abdoulaye Traoré1984–19965088
3.Salomon Kalou2007–2897
4.Djohan Tiéhi1987–19992540
5.Gervinho2007–2284
5.Ibrahima Bakayoko1996–20022240
7.Yaya Touré2004–201519101
7.Laurent Pokou1967–19801962
9.Aruna Dindane2000–20101862
9.Wilfried Bony2010–1859

Honours