In December 2007, Werder coach Thomas Schaaf guessed how things could develop: "They have a good team so we can expect them to go a long way", said the trainer. Now it would appear that Schaaf’s prophecy is about to become reality. The Ivory Coast’s national team are currently going from strength to strength and notching up wins on the way despite having had a stuttering start in the Africa Cup of Nations. After a less than inspiring 1:0 win in the group opener against Nigeria, ‘The Elephants’ went on to beat Benin (4:1) and Mali (3:0) convincingly. The Ivory Coast finished top of their group and go on now to the quarter finals, spear-headed by Werder striker Boubacar Sanogo.
The next step along the way to the title must be taken on Sunday, 03.02.2008 (live on Eurosport at 9:30pm cet) when the side from the West African coastal nation take on Group A’s second placed side Guinea. Despite having taken the lead in every group game, Guinea went on to win just one game against Morocco (3:2). Against hosts Ghana the Guineans slumped to a 1:2 defeat and only qualified for the latter stages of the tournament thanks to a 1:1 draw with Namibia.