Ivory Coast national football team

• 1. Introduction

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  The Ivory Coast national football team, known as the Elephants, played their first international match on the 13th of April 1960 in Madagascar, beating Dahomey 3-2. That was just the beginning of a story that would take them through decades of near-misses, three World Cup group-stage exits in a row, and ultimately three Africa Cup of Nations titles. How did a team that was once banned from a tournament for fielding an ineligible player come to win the continent's most prestigious trophy as hosts in 2023? And what does it mean that their most recent triumph required firing the coach mid-tournament? Those questions, and the remarkable figures behind the answers, are what this documentary explores.

• 2. The Early Decades

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  Ivory Coast's debut in international competition came immediately after independence from France. In 1961, the Elephants made their first appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations, and by 1963 and 1965 they had already claimed third place twice. Those finishes pointed toward a team with genuine continental ambitions.

  The 1970s told a more complicated story. At the 1970 African Cup of Nations the Elephants topped their group, only to lose in the semi-finals to Ghana, then the dominant force in African football. They finished fourth after losing the third-place match to the United Arab Republic, the nation now known as Egypt. Qualification troubles followed: they failed to reach the 1972 edition after a 4-3 loss to Congo-Brazzaville in the final qualifying round, and then attended the 1974 tournament only to finish bottom of their group with a single point.

  The most unusual chapter of that decade came around the 1978 competition. Ivory Coast had already beaten Mali on aggregate to qualify, but were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player in the second leg. Mali were disqualified in turn, because police and stadium security had assaulted the match officials during the first leg. The beneficiary was Upper Volta, the nation Ivory Coast had already eliminated in an earlier qualifying round.

  By 1984 the team was hosting the African Cup of Nations for the first time, yet still could not escape the group stage. Two years later, though, they narrowly advanced on goals scored and went on to beat Morocco 3-2 in the third-place play-off, claiming their second bronze medal at the tournament.

• 3. The 1992 Miracle

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  At the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations, Ivory Coast beat Algeria 3-0 and drew 0-0 with Congo to finish top of their group. From there, an extra-time win over Zambia and a penalty shootout victory over Cameroon carried them to the final for the first time.

  The final against Ghana went the distance. When neither side could be separated after normal and extra time, the match went to a penalty shootout that became, at the time, the highest-scoring in international football. Ivory Coast eventually prevailed 11-10 to lift the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time. It was a record that captured the sheer nerve required that day.

  Defending the title in 1994 proved beyond them. Nigeria ended their campaign in the semi-finals, and that early exit foreshadowed years of frustration at a competition where Ivory Coast would too often finish just short. The trophy would not return to Abidjan for more than two decades.

• 4. World Cup Arrival and Drogba

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  In October 2005, Ivory Coast secured their first-ever FIFA World Cup qualification, booking a place at the 2006 tournament in Germany. The final qualifying match saw them beat Sudan 3-1 while Cameroon, who led the group, could only draw with Egypt. That result handed Ivory Coast a historic ticket.

  The draw placed them in a group alongside Argentina, the Netherlands, and Serbia and Montenegro. Didier Drogba scored the team's first World Cup goal in the 82nd minute of a 2-1 defeat to Argentina. A second 2-1 loss to the Netherlands left them already eliminated before the final group match.

  Against Serbia and Montenegro, trailing 2-0 after just 20 minutes, the Elephants came back to win 3-2. Bonaventure Kalou struck an 86th-minute penalty to secure Ivory Coast's first World Cup victory. The comeback offered a glimpse of the team's resilience, even in an already-finished campaign.

  That same year, Ivory Coast reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, where a penalty shootout against Cameroon ran to 12-11 in their favour before they were named runners-up to the host nation. Drogba would go on to become the nation's all-time top scorer, finishing with 65 goals in 105 appearances, a ratio no other Ivorian player has approached. His nearest rival in goals, Abdoulaye Traoré, managed 49 in 90 caps across a career that ended in 1996.

• 5. Three Group-Stage Exits

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  At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Ivory Coast were drawn alongside Brazil, Portugal, and North Korea. A 0-0 draw against Portugal was followed by a 3-1 defeat to Brazil. Beating North Korea 3-0 in the final match was not enough: Portugal held Brazil to a 0-0 draw, meaning the goal-difference swing Ivory Coast needed never arrived. They were out in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament.

  Brazil 2014 brought an even more painful exit. After beating Japan 2-1 and losing 2-1 to Colombia, Ivory Coast faced Greece in a match they were drawing 1-1 in stoppage time. With Japan losing 4-1 to Colombia elsewhere, qualification appeared secure. Then, in the 93rd minute, Giovanni Sio conceded a penalty. Georgios Samaras converted it, and Greece took the point that sent them through to the last 16 while Ivory Coast went out in the group stage for the third World Cup in succession.

  During the 2010 campaign, a coaching change had unfolded in unusual fashion. Uli Stielike departed before the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations because of his son's health, and co-trainer Gérard Gili stepped up. With no second assistant, Didier Drogba served as player-coach, only the second time in the history of that tournament that a player had simultaneously held a coaching role, after George Weah did so for Liberia in 2002.

  Ivory Coast failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup at all, losing 2-0 to Morocco in their decisive final qualifier, the result that sent Morocco through instead.

• 6. Champions Again

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  The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea ended the long wait for a second continental title. The final against Ghana was goalless after normal and extra time, and the penalty shootout ran to 22 kicks. Ivory Coast won 9-8, the exact mirror of their 1992 final nerves against the same opponent.

  Eight years later, in early 2024, Ivory Coast hosted the tournament for the second time and produced one of its most extraordinary narratives. A 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in the group stage left the Elephants as one of the best third-placed teams, barely clinging to survival. Coach Jean-Louis Gasset was dismissed. His assistant, Emerse Faé, was appointed caretaker for the knockout rounds.

  Under Faé, the team eliminated the defending champions Senegal on penalties, beat Mali after extra time, and defeated DR Congo in the semi-finals. The final against Nigeria ended 2-1 to Ivory Coast, giving the nation a third Africa Cup of Nations title. It was the first time in the history of the competition that a team had changed coaches mid-tournament and gone on to win the trophy. Faé remained in charge afterward, leading the squad that was named in May 2026 for the FIFA World Cup.

• 7. Records and the Stadium

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  Didier Zokora holds the record for the most appearances in Ivory Coast history, with 123 caps across a career that ran from 2000 to 2014. He is now head of delegation for the national squad. Behind him sits Kolo Touré with 121 caps, and Max Gradel with 110, spanning a career from 2011 to 2024.

  For decades, Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan served as the home ground. The 50,000-seat venue hosted its first match in 1964 and remained the main venue until 2020. That year the 60,000-seat Alassane Ouattara Stadium opened in the same city, ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations that Ivory Coast would go on to win.

  The supporter culture around the Elephants has become part of the team's identity. At home matches, the supporter sections feature a percussion band that plays sounds mimicking an elephant moving through a forest. That ritual, alongside the all-orange home colours, gives the Elephants a presence in African football that extends well beyond their record of three continental titles.

  On the 15th of May 2026, a 26-player squad was named for the FIFA World Cup, Ivory Coast's fourth appearance at the tournament. A pre-tournament friendly against France on the 4th of June 2026 was scheduled as part of the preparation.