Reach the second round:In their previous two participations, Ivory Coast bowed out in the first round, but that was no surprise. In Germany 2006, they lost to title favourites Argentina and Netherlands before beating Serbia to finish third in the group. Four years later in South Africa, they beat North Korea but then lost to Brazil and were held by Portugal, who followed Brazil to the round of 16. This year it seems their luck has changed as they've been paired with Colombia, Greece and Japan. Theoretically none of them seems to be a big threat for the African giants, but that will have to be proven on the field. Save the golden 'lost' generation:The 1992 squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations is seen as the most successful Ivorian team, but it surely didn't include the class of players of this generation. Didier Drogba, Gervinho, the Toure Brothers, Salomon Kalou and others have been dubbed the nations' golden generation that should have won many trophies. However, they've fired blanks over the past decade – a jinx they hope to break at Brazil 2014. "We have an amazing squad of players and we all think it is about time we reach our full potential," Yaya Toure told Sky Sports. "When I look around and see players like Drogba, Kalou, Bony, Gervinho and Zokora, I can only be filled with confidence." "Why we haven't gone on to win a trophy is something that I can't understand. We want and we hope we'll make it soon because some of us haven't got a lot of time left to be winners," he said. Fitness challenge:The squad is aging, with most of its stars like Drogba (36), Yaya (31), Kolo (33) Didier Zokora (33) going over the bar of their thirties. It will be a serious challenge for them to play at their highest level for three consecutive matches in nine days. Yaya Toure is also still struggling with a hamstring injury while his elder brother Kolo has just recovered from a Malaria infection. However, coach Sabri Lamouchi can rotate his squad as he has a lot of valuable options on the bench. A third-time scorer:Drogba is the only player on the team who has scored in each of the past two editions. The 36-year old Ivory Coast all-time scorer (65 goals) scored against Argentina 2-1 in 2006 and against Brazil 3-1 in 2010. He hopes to increase his tally and this year his mission will be easier against less robust opponents. Yaya, a point to prove:Yaya Toure has been in tremendous form this year with Manchester City, scoring 20 league goals and leading them to the Premier League title. The two-time African player of the year is seen as one of the best midfielders in the world right now, but he feels he is being underrated as he hasn't claimed any individual prize. There's no better stage than the World Cup to prove critics wrong – but first he has to surmount his fitness troubles. (For more sports news and updates,followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/103393.aspx
