Ivory Coast

Rank: 21 World Cup appearances: 2 tournaments Best result: Group Stages (2006, 2010) For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Top SCORERS (QUALIFYING) Salomon Kalou (5) Did you know? Ivory Coast won the 2 highest-scoring penalty shoot-outs. They beat Ghana 11-10 in the 1992 African Nations Cup final and then Cameroon 12-11 in a 2006 quarterfinals.

Africa's most recognisable international Didier Drogba is set for a World Cup swansong in Brazil where he and his Ivory Coast teammates will seek to dispel the tag of 'chokers'.
The Ivorians have wilted under pressure at the last five African Nations Cup tournaments, where on each occasion they were either outright favourites or among the leading picks. They have a much better chance than in their two previous tournament appearances. They were eliminated after their first two matches in the 2006 finals in Germany, after going down to Argentina and the Netherlands, before beating Serbia. In South Africa four years ago they drew against Portugal, lost to Brazil and beat North Korea but found four points not enough to progress.
Their consistent failures in the Nations Cup have earned the team a reputation as "chokers". They developed a habit of cruising through their early matches, before producing one ponderous performance to be eliminated in the knockout rounds. But with modest ambitions in Brazil, and none of the pressure of being a fancied team, it could prove a successful swansong for Drogba and a successful introduction for players like Serge Aurier and Wilfred Bony.
For the 35-year-old Drogba, fast approaching 100 caps, and several of his teammates,  it is their last chance to leave a mark for their country after prestigious careers at club level. Yaya Toure and his older brother Kolo; Didier Zokora and Gervinho have all made names for themselves in Europe but collectively have failed to taste glory at national level.
The Ivorians have come agonisingly close to winning the Africa title, twice losing the final on penalties.

STRENGTH

Talent Pool
The Ivory Coast boast an incredible collection of quality players who are capable of attacking in an assortment of ways. The depth they boast in the form of Seydou Doumbia, Wilfred Bony and Lacina Traore is astonishing.

WEAKNESS

The 'Choker' tag
However, strong as they are, mental issues have always come to the fore. The Elephants are infamous chokers under the weight of expectation and have a woeful World Cup record.

ONE TO WATCH

Yaya Toure
Ivory Coast midfield colossus Yaya Toure has few obvious reasons to be unhappy - he is enormously successful, earns more than 350,000 USD a week at Manchester City and will soon play at the World Cup.
Yet Toure says the fact he comes from Africa means he is not properly appreciated.
What he perceives as second-class treatment of African players by fans, media and the soccer establishment upsets him.
He says other under-appreciated top players include Ivory Coast teammate Didier Drogba and Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o.
Toure is now famous for box-to-box runs and the ability to score spectacular long-distance goals with a seemingly languid swipe of his boot.

Yaya Toure: The Ivorian beast must leave his transfer conundrum at the door in order to get the best out of him in Brazil.

He was a crucial part of the City team that won the Premier League in the 2011-12 season. Juan Mata, then of Chelsea, told The Sun newspaper last year Toure was "the complete player."
Toure has scored 16 goals in 82 appearances for the national side and although he predicts an African team will soon make it to a World Cup final, it is unlikely to be Ivory Coast.
The Elephants lost the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final to unheralded Zambia and were eliminated at the first stage of both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.
The team's outside chances of glory will not deter Toure from pursuing his new role in Brazil.

Coach: Sabri Lamouchi
Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi, the youngest man in charge of any of the 32 finalists, had never coached before his surprise elevation to the job in 2012, just before the start of the World Cup qualifiers, he now  finds himself bound for Brazil.
The former France international's appointment to one of the biggest jobs in African football, after being an armchair analyst on French television, was controversial as it came just months after Francois Zahoui had taken the Ivorian team to the final of the African Nations Cup.
Born in Lyon to north African parents, Lamouchi made his name as a midfielder with Auxerre and Monaco before moving to Italy, where he played for Parma, Inter Milan and Genoa.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren), Sylvain Gbohouo (Sewe Sport), Sayouba Sande (Stabaek)
Defenders: Kolo Toure (Liverpool), Sol Bamba (Trabzonspor), Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), Serge Aurier (Toulouse), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart), Ousmane Viera Diarrassouba (Caykur Rizespor), Constant Djakpa (Frankfurt), Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro (Toulouse)
Midfielders: Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Cheik Tiote (Newcastle), Serey Die (Basel), Max Gradel (Saint Etienne), Diomande Ismael (Saint Etienne), Didier Ya Konan (Hannover), Mathis Bolly (Dusseldorf)
Forwards: Gervinho (Roma), Didier Drogba (Galatasaray), Salomon Kalou (Lille), Wilfried Bony (Swansea), Giovanni Sio (Basel)