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Ivory Coast

Group C | World ranking: 32

Qualification: Topped a qualifying group which also included Cameroon and Egypt
Coach: Henri Michel
Key Players: Didier Drogba (forward), Kolo Toure (defender)
Past Record: First-time qualifiers

Group C Matches:
June 10: Argentina (Hamburg)
June 15: Netherlands (Stuttgart)
June 21: Serbia & Montenegro (Munich)

The West Africans come to the World Cup for the first time with the dream of matching the achievements of Senegal, who reached the last eight on their debut in Japan-South Korea. The Elephants will be hard-pressed to match that however, faced with three tough matches in the opening round. But the Ivorians have already survived a qualifying group that included Cameroon, Africa's most successful World Cup side, and continental champions Egypt. Ivory Coast are reliant on the bruising goalscoring of Didier Drogba. What the Chelsea striker lacks in finesse he makes up for in strength and self-belief -- qualities that have rubbed off on his teammates. And with veteran French coach Henry Michel in charge, the team won't be under-prepared or lacking in team spirit.

Squad

Goalkeepers:
1. Jean-Jacques Tizie (Esperance Tunis)
16. Gerard Gnanhouan (Montpellier)
23. Boubacar Barry (Beveren)

Defenders:
2. Arthur Boka (Strasbourg)
4. Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
6. Blaise Kouassi (Troyes)
12. Abdoulaye Meite (Marseille)
13. Marc Zoro (Messina)
17. Cyrille Domoraud (Creteil)
21. Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal)

Midfielders:
3. Kanga Akale (Auxerre)
4. Didier Zokora (St Etienne)
7. Emerse Fae (Nantes)
10. Gilles Yapi Yapo (Young Boys)
19. Gneri Yaya Toure (Olympiakos)
20. Guy Demel (Hamburg)
22. Ndri Romaric (Le Mans)

Forwards:
8. Bonaventure Kalou (Paris Saint-Germain)
9. Arouna Kone (PSV Eindhoven)
11. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
14. Bakari Kone (Nice)
15. Aruna Dindane (Lens)
18. Abdulkader Keita (Lille)

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