Ivory Coast OVERVIEW 
The Ivory Coast will be participating in their first ever FIFA World Cup™ finals. In their history, they have achieved 6-0 victories no less than three times, a record in world football statistics. The matches in question were against Mali (1985), Botswana (1992) and Niger (2000).
Their worst defeat was in 1971 where they lost 6-2 to Ghana. They will hope to spring a surprise in Germany and they should not be taken lightly.
Scroll down the page for world cup statistics of Ivory Coast and
background information on the country.
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Ivory Coast World Cup Statistics
Confederation: AfricaPrevious World Cup Appearances: 0 Best Finish: n/a Ivory Coast General Information
Capital City: YamoussoukroCurrency: CFA Franc Population: 16.9 million Official Languages: French Country History and Background
Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil. On 25 December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan Bedie. Junta leader Robert Guei held elections in late 2000, but excluded prominent opposition leader Alassane Ouattra, blatantly rigged the polling results, and declared himself winner. Popular protest forced GUEI to step aside and brought runner-up Laurent Gbagbo into power. Gbagbo spent his first two years in office trying to consolidate power to strengthen his weak mandate, but he was unable to appease his opponents, who launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002. Rebel forces claimed the northern half of the country and in January 2003 were granted ministerial positions in a unity government under the auspices of the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord. President Gbagbo and rebel forces resumed implementation of the peace accord in December 2003 after a three-month stalemate, but ethnically-charged issues that sparked the civil war, such as land reform and grounds for nationality remain unresolved. The central government has yet to exert control over the northern regions and tensions remain high between Gbagbo and rebel leaders. Several thousand French and West African troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to maintain peace and facilitate the disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation process. Player to Watch
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