Ivory Coast's home colours are all orange. Since 2020 their home games have been played atAlassane Ouattara Stadium, in Abidjan. Prior to this their home ground wasFelix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, also in Abidjan.Didier Zokora holds the record for number of caps, with 123. The nation's leading goalscorer isDidier Drogba, who scored 65 goals forthe Elephants in 105 appearances.
Ivory Coast's performances in the 1970s were mixed. In the1970 African Cup of Nations, the team finished top of their group, but lost to Ghana – the powerhouses of African football at the time – in the semi-finals, and went on to finish 4th after losing the third-place play-off to theUnited Arab Republic (now Egypt).[7] They failed to qualify forthe 1972 edition, losing 4–3 toCongo-Brazzaville in the final qualifying round,[8] and then qualified in1974 but finished bottom of their group with only a single point.[9] Missing the1976 tournament,[10] the team initially qualified for1978, beatingMali 2–1 on aggregate, but were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player in the second leg. Mali were also disqualified, due to police and stadium security assaulting the match officials during the first leg, resulting inUpper Volta, who Ivory Coast had beaten in the first qualifying round, inheriting their place.[11]
In1984, the team hosted the African Cup of Nations for the first time, but failed to get out of their group.[12] In1986, they narrowly qualified from their group on goals scored, and went on to finish third once more, beating Morocco 3–2 in the third-place play-off.[13]
At the1992 Africa Cup of Nations, Ivory Coast beatAlgeria 3–0[14] and drew 0–0 with Congo to finish top of their group.[15] An extra-time victory over Zambia[16] and a penalty shoot-out win over Cameroon[17] took them to the final for the first time, where they faced Ghana. The match again went to a penalty shoot-out, which became, at the time, the highest-scoring in international football; Ivory Coast eventually triumphed 11–10 to win the title for the first time.[18] They were unable to defend their title in1994, losing toNigeria in the semi-finals.[19]
In October 2005, Ivory Coast secured qualification for the2006 FIFA World Cup, their first-ever appearance at the tournament. Having been drawn into a "group of death" that also featured Cameroon and Egypt, Ivory Coast went into the final match second behind Cameroon, but qualified after beating Sudan 3–1 while Cameroon could only draw with Egypt.[20]
Ivory Coast finished runners-up at the2006 African Cup of Nations, with the tournament including another lengthy penalty shootout, where Ivory Coast defeatedCameroon 12–11.[21]
In the tournament itself, Ivory Coast were drawn into another group of death, againstArgentina,Netherlands, andSerbia and Montenegro.[22] They lost 2–1 to Argentina[23] – withDidier Drogba scoring the team's first-ever World Cup goal in the 82nd minute – and then 2–1 to the Netherlands,[24] meaning they had already been eliminated by the time they played Serbia and Montenegro. After going 2–0 down after just 20 minutes, Ivory Coast came back to win 3–2, withBonaventure Kalou scoring an 86th-minute penalty to give Ivory Coast their first-ever World Cup victory.[25]
AfterUli Stielike left before the2008 African Cup of Nations due to his son's health, co-trainer Gerard Gili took his position.[26] 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 a coach at the tournament, afterGeorge Weah was both player and coach forLiberia during the2002 tournament.
The national football team of the Côte d'Ivoire before a match against Poland in 2010
Ivory Coast qualified for the2010 FIFA World Cup inSouth Africa, and were again drawn in a group of death, against five-time championsBrazil,Portugal, andNorth Korea.[27] Having managed a 0–0 draw against Portugal,[28] a 3–1 defeat to Brazil meant that in order to qualify from their group,[29] they would have to beat North Korea,[30] while Brazil needed to beat Portugal, and thanks to Portugal's 7–0 win over North Korea,[31] there needed to be a substantial swing in goal difference. Ivory Coast won 3–0,[30] but Portugal held Brazil to a 0–0 draw[32] and Ivory Coast were once again eliminated in the group stage.[33]
Logo until 2014
The team made a third appearance in the2014 FIFA World Cup inBrazil, where they were drawn intoGroup C againstColombia,Greece, andJapan.[34] After coming from behind to beat Japan 2–1,[35] Ivory Coast then lost 2–1 to Colombia,[36] leaving their qualification in the balance. In their final match against Greece, the score was 1–1 going into stoppage time, and with Japan losing 4–1 to Colombia, Ivory Coast looked set to qualify. However, in the 93rd minute,Giovanni Sio gave away a penalty whichGeorgios Samaras converted, giving Greece both the victory and the place in the last 16;[37] Ivory Coast, meanwhile, went out in the group stage for the third tournament in a row.[38]
Ivory Coast failed to qualify for the2018 FIFA World Cup. After needing a win in their final match againstMorocco, they lost 2–0, meaning Morocco qualified instead.[40]
The national football team of the Côte d'Ivoire in 2022
In early 2024, Ivory Coast hosted theAfrica Cup of Nations for the second time.[41] Following a 4–0 defeat toEquatorial Guinea and third-placed finish in the group stage, coachJean-Louis Gasset was dismissed, and assistant coachEmerse Faé was hired as caretaker in the knockout stages, as the national team qualified as one of the best third-placed teams.[42] Later on, Ivory Coast managed to defeat the defending championsSenegal in the penalty shoot-outs,Mali after extra-time, andDR Congo in the semi-finals.[43] They eventually won the title, defeating Nigeria 2–1 in the final, marking their third victory.[44] For the first time in the history of the African Cup of Nations, the tournament was won by a team that changed coaches during the tournament.[45]
Supporters of the Elephants are known to be among the most colorful in Africa. At Ivory Coast matches, the Elephants supporter sections typically include a percussion band that mimics the sounds of anelephant traveling through a forest.[47]
^Touré appeared two games that are not considered official matches by FIFA. One against Cameroon in 2009, as it was played over three periods of 30 minutes, and a game against a Nigeria XI in 2015, where no documentation was submitted before the game.
^abGradel appeared three games that are not considered official matches by FIFA. A match against Mali in 2012, as it did not have FIFA permission, and a game against a Nigeria XI in 2015, where no documentation was submitted before the game, and a match against a Sweden League XI in 2017.
^abDrogba also appeared in a game against Cameroon in 2009, scoring one goal, however it was played over three periods of 30 minutes, therefore it is not considered an official match by FIFA.
^abTouré appeared two games that are not considered official matches by FIFA. One against Cameroon in 2009, as it was played over three periods of 30 minutes, and a game against a Nigeria XI in 2015, where no documentation was submitted before the game.
^Tiéné also appeared in a game against Cameroon in 2009, however it was played over three periods of 30 minutes, therefore it is not considered an official match by FIFA.
^abKalou also appeared in a game against a Nigeria XI in 2015, scoring one goal, however no documentation was submitted before the game, therefore it is not considered an official match by FIFA.
^Aurier appeared two games that are not considered official matches by FIFA. One against a Nigeria XI in 2015, as no documentation was submitted before the game, and a game against a Sweden League XI in 2017.
^abTraoré also appeared in a game against Nigeria U-20s in 1991, scoring one goal, however this wasn't a full international 'A' side, therefore it is not considered an official match by FIFA.
^Gervinho appeared two games that are not considered official matches by FIFA. One against Cameroon in 2009, as it was played over three periods of 30 minutes, and a game against a Nigeria XI in 2015, where no documentation was submitted before the game.
