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Reaching World Cup knockout phase my dream – Ivory Coast boss Beaumelle
The Elephants failed to qualify for the mundial in 2018, but will hope to do so in two years’ time
Ivory Coast manager Patrice Beaumelle says his dream with the Ivory Coast national team is to reach the knockout phase of the World Cup.
The Elephants have been to three World Cups, their maiden outing coming at the 2006 edition in Germany followed by the 2010 edition in South Africa and that of 2014 in Brazil. On each occasion, the two-time African champions failed to make it past the group stage and did not make to the 2018 edition in Russia.
Their journey to the next Mundial in Qatar in 2022 starts in May next year in a group containing Cameroon, Mozambique and Malawi.
However, Beaumelle’s mind is focused on the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off on January 2022 and have to contend with Madagascar, Ethiopia and Niger to make it to the finals.
"Reaching the knockout stage at the World Cup with Cote d'Ivoire remains a dream for me. Every coach wants to reach the latter stages of this great tournament,” Beaumelle said on the Fifa website.
“The World Cup is the ultimate goal for any national team coach, but it’s premature to talk about it now. My goals under my current contract relate to the upcoming AFCON. As I said earlier, we’re going through a transition so are currently focused on the continental tournament. However, the World Cup is certainly on my mind.
“Our group is very difficult. Cameroon are used to making the World Cup and having faced Malawi and Mozambique previously, I can say they’re very tough teams, especially on home soil. Moreover, we know that travel in Africa is difficult, which will further complicate our task. Every point will be vital on the road to Qatar 2022.”
Ivory Coast’s most impactful era came with the likes of players of Didier Drogba, the Toure brothers, Salomon Kalou, and Didier Zokora, among others.
The bulk of them have either retired or are close to doing so and with a new crop of talent replacing them in the likes of Franck Kessie, Eric Baily, Serge Aurier, Wilfried Zaha, Maxwel Cornet and Nicolas Pepe.
As such, comparisons are made with the previous era, something Beaumelle advised against.
“Comparing the country’s golden generation led by Drogba with the current crop is premature. I came up against that powerful team several times when I was coach of Zambia, and I believe that the current generation of Côte d'Ivoire players is inspired by them,” he said.
“Young players have pictures of former stars in their rooms, so why can’t they follow in their footsteps? Perhaps the best example is Kylian Mbappe, who managed to fulfil his childhood dreams. The Elephants can do the same, and I’m here to help them do that."
