Ivory Coast (National Football)

Admittedly, El Salvador didn’t represent the sternest of tests for the Cote d’Ivoire when the two teams met on Wednesday evening. The Central Americans offered precious little in attack and, after scoring two first-half goals, the game became little more than a training exercise for the Ivorians, who enjoyed long spells of possession and toyed around with some varying offensive options.

All in all, the outing, a 2-1 victory, did much to enforce the view that the Elephants could be set for their first-ever appearance in the knockout rounds this summer.

In their two previous World Cup appearances, the Elephants didn’t manage to escape the group, a combination of terrifically difficult draws and, certainly in the case of 2006, defensive naivety.

The fabled Golden Generation have, similarly, struggled to claim the honours to accompany their status and reputations within the continental context. African Cup of Nations tournaments have come and gone, with the Ivorians becoming the masters of choking when their continental rivals crank up the pressure.

Heading into Brazil, there is great reason for optimism. Three of their four key players—Yaya Toure, Salomon Kalou and Gervinho—are all in their prime and coming off the back of stunning seasons in three of Europe’s major leagues.

Few midfielders in the world are capable of doing what Toure can do; Kalou has become a much more rounded and mature character since swapping Chelsea for LOSC Lille in Ligue 1; while Gervinho has been a man reborn, playing out of his skin and clearly enjoying life in AS Roma after leaving Arsenal behind.

The fourth key player, Didier Drogba, may be 36, but he remains a force of nature, a highly experienced and effective performer who will be incredibly motivated to lead his side into the last 16 and beyond this summer.

Elsewhere, Wilfried Bony, likely to feature from the bench, has had a fantastic debut season in English football, scoring 16 goals in 34 Premier League games for Swansea City. Serge Aurier, similarly, is enjoying a steep climb to fame in France with Toulouse and looks destined for a major transfer following the World Cup.

Things in other areas of the pitch aren’t looking so rosy.

The Elephants defence didn’t come under much, if any, scrutiny against El Salvador, largely because of the deficiencies of its opponents.

That’s probably for the best, as, when placed under pressure, the Ivorian defence has proved itself to be particularly brittle.

Heading into the 2014 World Cup, it is the back line—and specifically the heart of the defence—that represents the side’s greatest weakness and the major headache for coach Sabri Lamouchi.

The Elephants have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last eight games. They have conceded 14 goals, averaging over two conceded per game, over the last year of matches.

During this period, their opponents haven’t been the most testing, either. Tanzania—those famed East African heavyweights—may have conceded four against the Elephants, but they themselves scored two past the Ivorians’ first-choice back five.

Against Mexico they conceded four, again with the preferred personnel on the pitch, while they conceded two apiece against Belgium and Bosnia in March and May, respectively.

Despite their poor performances, coach Sabri Lamouchi has seemed hesitant to play around with his first-choice defence.

Copa Barry, the goalkeeper who’s always good for a comical blunder or a momentary lapse, has long been considered the Golden Generation’s weak link. However, with few other stoppers of note set to replace him, the keeper has only missed three matches (two friendlies and the dead rubber against Algeria at the Cup of Nations) since the beginning of 2013.

At left-back, the Ivorians have several fine options. Arthur Boka is likely to start in Brazil, but Lamouchi has given game time to both Constant Djakpa (who also travels) and Siaka Tiene in recent times. Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro has also been assessed in this position with, if anything, instability rather than player deficiency being the Elephants’ greatest enemy at left-back.

In the centre, however, Kolo Toure, Sol Bamba and Didier Zokora are an uncomfortable trio to occupy such pivotal positions and protect the jittery Barry.

The first two players are fairly similar, particularly since Toure has begun to lose his pace. The pair offer presence, power and experience but are both capable of lapses of concentration, are vulnerable on the turn and aren’t wholly natural with the ball at their feet.

Toure has deteriorated greatly since his halcyon days at Arsenal, as anyone who has witnessed some of his hapless performances in a Liverpool shirt this season can testify.

Since the opening game of the 2013 Cup of Nations, Toure and Bamba have only started two games together, including Wednesday night’s clash against El Salvador.

Lamouchi has preferred to use Zokora, converted from defensive midfield, to offer something different in the heart of the defence. The former Tottenham Hotspur man is an expert reader of the game and is comfortable on the ball. What he lacks in height and strength, he compensates for in intuitive positioning, anticipation and mobility.

Playing Zokora alongside one of the other two—typically Bamba—is a solution, but it is not the answer. The latter’s limitations and lack of pace cannot simply be solved by the presence of the former Spurs man alongside him.

Bamba’s sluggishness discourages him and Zokora from pushing up, for risk of leaving space behind them, but in remaining deep, the defence opens up space ahead of itself, running the risk of speedy forwards running right at it.

The description must be the stuff of Bamba’s nightmares.

A solution proposed before the tournament was to move Aurier inside from right-back. While this would have removed some of the youngster’s attacking threat down the flank, it would have ensured the centre of defence, an altogether more important part of the pitch, was solidified. Aurier may be young, but he has the mobility, the power and the intelligence to compensate for the deficiencies of others.

This plan could have worked perfectly had Olympique Marseille’s Brice Dja Djedje made the final cut.

The versatile former Paris Saint-Germain man is another rising Ligue 1 star and could have thrived at right-back alongside Aurier. In his absence, it may be that Akpa-Akpro could take the right-back berth, although, with only one cap to his name, this experiment may have to wait.

Lamouchi can relax a little knowing that Radamel Falcao will not be present in Group B to torture his back line, but even if the Monaco man will not be in Brazil, the opening pool features one or two players who could cause problems for Bamba and co.

The sleepless nights might be set to continue a little longer for Sabri Lamouchi.

Updates from Thursday, June 12

Kolo Toure says he is 100 percent healthy and ready to take his place in Ivory Coast's starting line-up for their opening World Cup encounter with Japan.

Toure had been suffering with malaria, but he delivered the following update, per the Daily Mail's Julian Bennetts:

I feel great.

The malaria was just for two days. Obviously we have the medical department that knows malaria very well and they gave me tablets. I was in bed for two days.

When they heard the news everyone was talking. I had a phone call from my club, from people around the world.

I’m absolutely fine because my body is used to that kind of sickness, it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time.

Original Text

The Ivory Coast national team received a potential setback just before the 2014 World Cup, as the team has announced defender Kolo Toure is being treated for malaria.

According to ITV, team doctor Cyrille Dah told fif-ci.com that the team is still expecting him to be fit for Brazil:

The 33-year-old defender fell ill on a trip home to Abidjan before joining the team's World Cup training camp in Dallas, the team's doctor said.

Cyrille Dah told the Ivorian Football Federation website, www.fif-ci.com: "Since Wednesday Kolo has been having treatment. This treatment will end on Friday. We have therefore told him to rest. He will not participate in the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina (on Saturday), but will return early next week."

ITV notes this isn't the first time that Toure has been treated for the disease, as he also suffered from it in 2008.

The 33-year-old has been a Premier League mainstay at both Arsenal and Manchester City since 2002, and remains the integral center of the back line on Ivory Coast's team despite falling out of favor with Liverpool in his first season there.

Not much time separates this news from the opening of the World Cup on June 12, and Ivory Coast's first match in Brazil comes early on June 14 against Japan.

Group C is wide-open as they join Greece, Colombia and Japan, so having the squad's key defender in the fold will be crucial from the get-go.

With more than 100 national team caps, there's no doubt the back line won't be able to hold up quite as well without Toure's presence.

Didier Drogba is 36, brother Yaya Toure is 31 and Kolo Toure himself is 33, so the window of World Cup opportunity may be closing on the Ivory Coast. It will be a serious crisis averted if Kolo Toure is able to get well in time to be at 100 percent heading into Brazil.

Ivory Coast head into the 2014 FIFA World Cup with grounded expectations but in full knowledge they can spring a fair share of upsets on Brazilian soil.

The Elephants topped their Confederation of African Football second-round qualifying group with four wins and two draws from six matches, before waltzing beyond Senegal in the continental play-offs 4-2 on aggregate. Competitive fixtures against Japan, Greece and Colombia await Sabri Lamouchi's team, which are more than capable of making the knockout stage.

Lamouchi has revealed a 28-man provisional squad in anticipation of next month's tournament. Let's take a look at who has a chance of making the final 23, as reported by The Guardian:

Key Selections

Lamouchi has the luxury of calling on many stars who have enjoyed successful seasons across Europe. Didier Drogba, the talisman for Ivorian football, gets a final shot on the world stage.

He is once again joined by Manchester City powerhouse Yaya Toure, who netted 20 Premier League goals during City's title-winning season, per WhoScored.com, ensuring the Ivorian squad isn't wanting for experienced leaders. Despite a lack of recent matches and a string of mistakes at Liverpool, Kolo Toure also makes the selection.

Emmanuel Eboue, the Galatasaray enigma who used to ply his trade in England, is the most noticeable absentee from a 28-man lineup that is crammed with pace, power and attacking intent.

Lineup Outlook

Lamouchi's squad possesses one factor that is sure to be pivotal at the World Cup: versatility.

Didier Zokora's consistent positioning in the starting lineup may be under threat, but the former Tottenham midfielder can slot into a number of roles for his young manager. Zokora has appeared in defensive midfield, at centre-back and even in a full-back role across previous matches. Similarly, Arthur Boka is comfortable playing on the left side of defence or in the middle.

Lamouchi will likely weigh up the opposition's strengths before making a final decision ahead of each match, as there's little point of deploying Zokora at centre-back if Colombia line up with the speed of Luis Muriel and Victor Ibarbo.

This versatility progresses through the rest of the squad. Yaya may start from deep in tight matches and burst forward when needed, or he could sit just behind a lone striker. Gervinho is best suited leading the line if Yaya does the latter, allowing the City midfielder to thread accurate passes onto his speedy teammate.

Drogba's vast experience is likely to see him start, especially during the opening game against Japan. He will be able to batter the less physical defences and hold the ball up, allowing his energetic colleagues to join attacks. If needed, Lamouchi will play with two strikers, as Wilfried Bony is likely to be thrown into the mix with great regularity.

Ivory Coast cannot be counted as dark horses for the competition, but they sit just behind Colombia, Chile and Belgium as those that can cause a real stir. The experienced team is more than used to competing with the best and offer some of the rawest physicality in the entire tournament—something that is counterbalanced with explosive attacks when space is afforded.

Lamouchi will be quietly confident with his selection. Although five names are yet to be deleted from the list, Ivory Coast's final squad will be well rounded, ready to battle and versatile.

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