The Ivory Coast, also known as the Elephants, is playing in only its second World Cup tourney in 2010. The first came in 2006, which means that the 2000s have been a decade marked by emergence from fourth-tier status to standing as an African power. In the event, the Elephants were eliminated in the first round, after losing twice to the Argentines and the Dutch in an exceedingly difficult group. The 2006 tournament was not a total disappointment, however, in that it gave the Elephants their first victory in World Cup a history, a 3-2 victory over Serbia and Montenegro. In each of the games, the Ivory Coast defense failed them, as they fell behind 2-0 in every contest. The Ivory Coast leaders coming into the 2006 tournament were Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, who play for some of the finest club teams in the world in Barcelona and Chelsea. But the Elephants leading scorer wound up being Aruna Dindane, who finished with a pair of goals in three games. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/team/history/_/id/4789/ivory-coast?cc=3888&ver=global

The Ivory Coast was also thought a likely entrant into the World Cup in 1994 in the United States, which came only two years after crowning themselves the continental champions in the Africa Cup in 1992. Sadly for Ivory Coast fans, the Elephants dropped into a tie with Nigeria with a 4-1 loss to that very same team in the final qualifier, and Nigeria advanced based on goal differential. Similar disappointments followed in 1998 and 2002, though expectations were comparatively lower.

The Ivory Coast had a relatively easy time in qualifying, finishing at the top of their four-team group with a 5-0-1 record and 16 total points, four above the second-place finisher. They also had 19 goals for and only four against in their six contests.http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/team/qualify/_/id/4789/ivory-coast?cc=3888&ver=global

The Elephants are again led by striker Didier Drogba, who is coming off yet another fine season at Chelsea in the English Premier League. He is joined by Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure, and a handful of lesser known players. Among them is Aruna Dindane, the author of the Ivory Coast's lone World Cup victory, as his two goals secured the win against Serbia and Montegro in 2006. The team is coached by new arrival Sven-Goran Eriksson, a coach with a world-class resume but whose last few national-team stops (in England and Mexico) have been less than successful.

The Ivory Coast has the misfortune of being stuck in the Group of Death, so named because of the difficulty of the opposition: Brazil, a five-time champion and the second-ranked team in the world; Portugal, a European power employing the services of one of the world's most dynamic players in Cristiano Ronaldo; and North Korea, a relatively surprising addition to the tournament that, like the Ivory Coast, is playing in its second tournament in history. The Ivory Coast is the third-ranked team in the group, out of which only two teams can pass.