Cote D'Ivoire 2014 FIFA World Cup Squad: Player-by-Player Guide
The final African nation to reveal their preliminary World Cup squad were Cote d’Ivoire, who announced their list of 28 names on Tuesday afternoon.
There were few surprise inclusions in the squad, although there were returns for Didier Ya Konan and Ali Badra Sangare.
Romaric and Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso, who have 46 and 21 caps respectively, have been overlooked, while Emmanuel Eboue and Siaka Tiene, with 78 and 85 appearances respectively, are on standby. The potential omission of these four names signals a definitive step away from the “Golden Generation” of the nation’s recent past.
The quartet were all present in South Africa four years ago as the Ivorians were eliminated in the opening round of the last World Cup. Perhaps the refreshed Elephants can finally make the knockout stages this time with the players selected by Sabri Lamouchi.
Squad courtesy of The Guardian.
Goalkeepers
Name: Boubacar “Copa” Barry
Date of Birth: 30/12/1979
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 79
Club: Lokeren (Belgium)
Name: Sayouba Mande
Date of Birth: 15/06/1993
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 1
Club: Stabaek (Norway)
Name: Badra Ali Sangare
Date of Birth: 30/05/1986
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 1
Club: ASEC Mimosas
Name: Sylvain Gbohouo
Date of Birth: 29/10/1988
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 0
Club: Sewe Sport
Defenders
Name: Didier Zokora
Date of Birth: 14/12/1980
Position: Centre-back, defensive midfield, central midfield
Caps: 119
Club: Trabzonspor (Turkey)
Name: Kolo Toure
Date of Birth: 19/03/1981
Position: Centre-back
Caps: 106
Club: Liverpool (England)
Name: Arthur Boka
Date of Birth: 02/04/1983
Position: Left-back, left wing-back
Caps: 78
Club: VFB Stuttgart (Germany)
Name: Serge Aurier
Date of Birth: 22/02/1992
Position: Right-back, right wing-back, right midfield, centre-back
Caps: 8
Club: Toulouse (France)
Name: Brice Dja Djedje
Date of Birth: 23/12/1990
Position: Right-back, right wing-back, defensive midfield
Caps: 3
Club: Olympique Marseille (France)
Name: Constant Djakpa
Date of Birth: 17/10/1986
Position: Left-back
Caps: 3
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
Name: Ousmane Viera
Date of Birth: 21/12/1986
Position: Centre-back
Caps: 3
Club: Caykur Rizespor (Turkey)
Name: Sol Bamba
Date of Birth: 13/01/1985
Position: Centre-back
Caps: 42
Club: Trabzonspor (Turkey)
Name: Benjamin Angoua
Date of Birth: 28/11/1986
Position: Centre-back, right-back, right wing-back, defensive midfield, central midfield
Caps: 18
Club: Valenciennes (France)
Name: Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro
Date of Birth: 11/10/1992
Position: Right-back, versatile midfielder
Caps: 0
Club: Toulouse (France)
Midfielders
Name: Cheick Tiote
Date of Birth: 21/06/1986
Position: Defensive midfield
Caps: 43
Club: Newcastle United (England)
Name: Yaya Toure
Date of Birth: 13/05/1983
Position: Central midfield, attacking midfield, Defensive midfield
Caps: 83
Club: Manchester City (England)
Name: Serey Die
Date of Birth: 07/11/1984
Position: Defensive midfield, central midfield, right midfield, right wing
Caps: 5
Club: FC Basel (Switzerland)
Name: Mathis Bolly
Date of Birth: 14/11/1990
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 2
Club: Fortuna Dusseldorf (Germany)
Name: Ismael Diomande
Date of Birth: 28/08/1992
Position: Defensive-midfield
Caps: 0
Club: AS Saint-Etienne (France)
Name: Didier Ya Konan
Date of Birth: 25/02/1984
Position: Attacking midfield, central midfield, right wing, striker
Caps: 25
Club: Hannover 96 (Germany)
Forwards
Name: Lacina Traore
Date of Birth: 20/05/1990
Position: Striker
Caps: 7
Club: Everton (England), on loan from AS Monaco (France)
Name: Salomon Kalou
Date of Birth: 05/08/1985
Position: Forward
Caps: 64
Club: LOSC Lille (France)
Name: Gervinho
Date of Birth: 27/05/1987
Position: Left wing, forward
Caps: 53
Club: AS Roma (Italy)
Name: Didier Drogba
Date of Birth: 11/03/1978
Position: Striker
Caps: 99
Club: Galatasaray (Turkey)
Name: Max Gradel
Date of Birth: 30/11/1987
Position: Winger, forward
Caps: 24
Club: Saint-Etienne (France)
Name: Wilfried Bony
Date of Birth: 10/12/1988
Position: Striker
Caps: 24
Club: Swansea City (Wales)
Name: Giovanni Sio
Date of Birth: 31/03/1989
Position: Striker
Caps: 6
Club: FC Basel (Switzerland)