MTNFootball

Ivory Coast have reached the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations on no less than eight occasion, but have just a single continental triumph to show for their efforts.

That is a poor conversion rate that once again came to the fore in the 2008 tournament in Ghana when they brushed all before them aside in reaching the last four, but were then hammered 4-1 by Egypt in their semi.

It was a trend that was set way back in 1965 when they first entered the competition and went on to reach the semifinals in their first three tournaments.

A lean period followed until 1986 when they were again in the last four, but they finally made the breakthrough in 1992, winning the tournament in Senegal with a marathon 11-10 shoot-out win over Ghana in the final.

Another semifinal showing came in 1994, before a spell of limited success followed up until the 2006 tournament in Egypt, where they lost to the hosts in the final. This time it was they who were on the wrong end of a shoot-out result.

Amazingly though, they did need a 12-11 shoot-out result to beat Cameroon in the quarterfinals.

They will be hot favourites going into the 2010 championship in Angola, but will be wary of semifinal defeats once again, knowing that early tournament form counts for nothing if you cannot grind out the results at the knockout stage.

Nations Cup Record:

1965: Semifinalists
1968: Semifinalists
1970: Semifinalists
1972: Did not qualify
1974: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
1976: Did not qualify
1978: Disqualified
1980: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
1982: Did not enter
1984: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
1986: Semifinalists
1988: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
1990: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
1992: WINNERS
1994: Semifinalists
1996: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
1998: Quarterfinalists
2000: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
2002: Qualified for the finals, did not progress past the first round
2004: Did not qualify
2006: Runners-up
2008: Semifinalists

Record:

Final tournament:

P W D L F A
68 28 16 24 98-90

Team History