Ivory Coast were knocked out of the World Cup 2014 in the most dramatic circumstances after conceding a late goal at the hands of Greece. Ivory Coast were winning the match 1-0 going into the last few minutes. Had this match finished with the same score, they would have reached the last 16 of the World Cup. However, they conceded an injury time goal to draw the match 1-1. Because of the previous matches in which they failed to get the necessary points, Ivory Coast have been knocked out of the tournament.
The exit also brings a huge fallout with the national team as they will not be without the Golden generation from here on. The likes of Didier Drogba and Kolo Toure may have played their last for the national team. Ivory Coast boss Sabri Lamouchi is also widely expected to announce his resignation from the post after this early exit. Ivory Coast came into the tournament still as one of the strongest teams from Africa. Players like Yaya Touré continue to dominate the headlines when it comes to club football.
Ivory Coast have not been able to make use of this talented generation, as they have not won a major trophy for more than two decades. The wait must go on after this draw.
“Still I am very disappointed. I think we could manage our game, but we we very naive collectively. We were not smart and we all are sinking. I think I could have done better, the team could have done better, but we were very naïve,” said the Liverpool defender Kolo Toure. Toure has already experienced pain in the form of missing out on the Premier league with Liverpool. He would have been the first player to have lifted the league title with three different teams in England.