Ivory Coast coach Henri Michel was happy to see his team end their short-lived World Cup campaign on a high note after beating Serbia and Montenegro 3-2 on Wednesday. "I'm satisfied that we finally won our first match after all our efforts," the Frenchman told a press conference after the match. The West Africans rallied from 2-0 deficit to beat the Serbs 3-2 in their final Group C match. Michel hailed Ivory Coast's historic comeback but insisted their were weaknesses in the team. "Once again we were up against the same problems tonight as we had in previous matches, except that instead of conceding two goals within 20 minutes, this time it was within ten minutes. "We need a lot of opportunities to get one or two goals and at this level that's not good enough," he said. The 58-year-old manager, who earlier announced he was quitting his post after the World Cup, said that Ivory Coast has the potential to become one of the world's top football sides, but require a lot of work. "They have a good future ahead of them but they have to work hard and not listen to people who would have them believe that they are the best team in the world," Michel said.
"If the team goes on working hard, they can be there," he added. The Ivorians bowed out of the tournament after losing to favorites Argentina and Holland respectively. Meanwhile, Serbia and Montenegro coach Ilija Petkovic blamed Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez for the defeat. "By awarding two penalties against us he allowed Ivory Coast to dominate the game," Petkovic was quoted as saying by BBC Sport after the game. "The referee did what he had to do but he should ask himself several questions about the way he handled the match." However, the former Yugoslav international did admit that Ivory Coast deserved to win and even qualify to the second round "Ivory Coast were outstanding, but they were also unfortunate because they could have finished second in this group," he said.
