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Eight things you didn’t know about Ivory Coast ahead of their visit to Wembley

Ghislain Konan of Ivory Coast walks out with his team

England’s second test during this international break will come against an improving Ivory Coast outfit. Here, we take a look at eight things you didn’t know about the Elephants.

With a star-studded team at their disposal, it's no surprise Ivory Coast gave France a scare in their recent encounter. 

Patrice Beaumelle's side will be looking to put on another stellar showing when they arrive at Wembley to take on the European Championship runners-up, England.

More French managers than France

Ivory Coast are international football's equivalent of Watford when it comes to chopping and changing managers.

Since the turn of the century, 17 different men have held the post, including familiar names such as Sven-Goran Eriksson, Sabri Lamouchi and Marc Wilmots.
Interestingly, out of that number, eight of them have been French - including the current coach, Beaumelle.

This does mean that since 2000, Ivory Coast have employed more French managers than the French national side - who in that same period have only been led by five different Frenchmen.

Drogba's goals-per-match on par with Ronaldo - better than Messi

The greatest goalscorer in the history of the Ivory Coast national side is Didier Drogba.

In 105 international games, the former Chelsea player scored a total of 65 goals - 12 more than England's top international scorer, Wayne Rooney.

Drogba's goal haul puts him 29th on the list of the highest international goalscorers. However, when you take into account his goals-per-match ratio, he is equal with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Both men average 0.62 goals per match, which is higher than Lionel Messi (0.51), Robert Lewandowski (0.58) and Neymar Jr (0.61).

More Premier League talent than Wales

Ivory Coast currently boast a squad full of top European talent - including six Premier League players.

Eric Bailly (Manchester United), Willy Boly (Wolves), Maxwel Cornet (Burnley), Hassane Kamara (Watford), Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal) and Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) have all been selected by Beaumelle.

Interestingly, that number is higher than the amount of Premier League talent in the current Welsh squad - something you might not expect, considering the amount of Welsh talent playing in England.

While 16 members of the current Welsh squad play club football across the border, only four of them are Premier League players.

Tragic circumstances behind Uli Stielike's departure

Uli Stielike is a footballing icon having won three Bundesliga titles, three La Ligas and one European Championship crown with Germany as a player.

The former defensive midfielder struggled to make an impact in the managerial game, but was given an opportunity to lead a strong Ivory Coast side into the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

However, just as Stielike was about to begin preparations, he stepped down from his role in order to be with his son, Michael, who was suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.

While Ivory Coast were playing in the tournament, Michael's condition deteriorated and he fell into a coma and was put on life support. After failing to receive a lung transplant, the 23-year-old passed away.

A month on from the death of his son, Stielike returned to Ivory Coast and took charge of three games before leaving when his contract expired.

Six members of the current squad were born abroad

Out of the 26 players who have been selected for Ivory Coast's most recent squad, six of them were born outside the country.
Willy Boly, Jeremie Boga, Hassane Kamara, Nicolas Pepe, Sebastian Haller and Yohan Boli were all born in France.
This is not all that uncommon in the world of international football. Morocco, for example, had 17 foreign-born players in their 2018 World Cup squad.

Max Gradel brings the experience factor

Former Leeds United and Leicester City player Max Gradel is the country's most experienced active player.
The 34-year-old has amassed 95 appearances for his national team, and has enjoyed 16 goals in the process.
Gervinho, who hasn't been selected for this round of international friendlies, isn't far behind with 88 caps to his name.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's shortest managerial reign

Since the start of his managerial career in 1977, Sven-Goran Eriksson has held 17 different jobs - some more successful than others.
However, his five-match run with the Ivory Coast national side was by far his shortest managerial tenure.
In truth, his spell with the African nation didn't reflect well on his character, as controversy surrounding money and wages marred his image.

Despite enjoying some good results - including a decent showing at the 2010 World Cup - Eriksson didn't sign a new deal. The federation explained the decision saying: "He was the first choice but the discussions came to nothing after difficulty arose about financial conditions, despite the good will on both sides."

Perhaps the most distasteful part of it all, were the comments of Eriksson's agent, Athole Still, who told The Guardian: "Why don't you ask some of these 'poor people in the Ivory Coast' about whether they would like to have a top class, international manager like Sven or someone that they've never heard of who comes from one of the local villages there - who could be a perfectly decent coach.

"Or would they prefer to have somebody who we would hope would give them a much better team and a much better chance of really performing at the World Cup?
"I can tell you that 99.99% of them would say 'Oh, let's have Sven-Goran Eriksson. We've heard all about him, he's a big name, he's had a lot of success with major clubs and at international level with England.' They will be delighted, they will be jumping up and down if the Ivory Coast does well."

Won more major trophies than England

Sorry England fans, but as far as stats go, Ivory Coast have won more major titles out of the two nations.

While English fans have been living off their 1966 World Cup victory, their African counterparts have won two Africa Cup of Nations championships.

The first of those came in 1992 as the Elephants beat Ghana on penalties in the final.

Their second triumph arrived in 2015, with Ivory Coast again lifting the trophy after beating Ghana on penalties.

READ MORE: England vs Ivory Coast news: Three Lions can roar to victory against Elephants

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