My name is Elliott. I am from the United States. I like soccer, err, football, err futbol. I am writing about the Ivory Coast because, at the last World Cup, I fell in love with Les Éléphants. I do not speak French. Sacre bleu!

But seriously, for all the talk of Argentina and Spain, for my money the Ivory Coast put on a slick-passing exhibition. Despite being in a group of death, Les Éléphants played vibrant, technical, bursting football. Yes they gifted two early goals to Argentina, but the proud Elephants clawed back a goal. The Ivory Coast battled the Dutch to a similar 2-1 loss, leaking early goals but showing incredible resolve in the latter stages. Two games, two losses, but at least they managed to, cough cough, unite a nation.

Moral victories may not count, but the Ivory Coast will soon be back on soccer’s biggest stage. The Ivory Coast sealed their qualification for South Africa 2010 with a 1-1 away draw to last place Malawi. The hosts took a shock lead in the 60th minute, but Drogba promptly appeared in super sub mode to pull a rabbit out of his hat. And qualification for the World Cup also means qualification for the African Cup of Nations in 2010. Two tournament birds with one stone!

Thus, the November 14th game against Guinea should be a site of experimentation as younger players get a look. Then, a little over two weeks later, Les Éléphants will eagerly chitter chatter like school girls in anticipation of the African Cup of Nations group draw. Let’s hope it goes better than Germany 2006. In the meantime, I will brush up on my French and do some player profiling. Does anybody know Didier Drogba’s twitter account?

Drogba’s team Chelsea were involved in a Premiership match against West Brom last Saturday. And I must admit that looking at the highlights of the game, Didier Drogba made a meal of the clash with Jonathan Greening of West Brom. But then, he was probably trying to get even with West Brom after seeing his fellow player Arjen Robben get sent off earlier for a similar incident.

Personally, I just hope players will stop play acting in football matches. It is a common occurence nowadays and it is very unsportmanlike to see players trying to other fellow professionals sent off.

Football is a beautiful game and players should treat is as such.

Cote d’Ivoire striker Abdelkader Keita opened the scoring after scoring from close range but Spanish striker David Villa equalised six minutes later.

Cote d’Ivoire went in front again at the start of the second half when sub Bonaventure Kalou caught Spain keeper Iker Casillas off guard with a spectacular dipping volley from outside the area.

Spanish and Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes hit Spain’s second equaliser when he curled in from the fringe of the area 12 minutes before defender Juanito popped up at the far post to earn his side a win and help extend their unbeaten run to 19 matches.

In an encounter which featured the likes of Zidane, Raul, Roberto Carlos, Robinho and David Beckham, Arsenal’s back four with a tender age of 20 kept out the super star studded Real Madrid team.

Both Toure and Eboue normally feature in the Ivorian team and yesterday’s fantastic result against Real Madrid will further boost their credentials when they play Argentina, Holland and Serbia Montenegro in Group C of the World Cup Finals.

He started is football career with the famous ASEC Abidjan academy which has produced Cote d’Ivoire’s prominent players in the last decade. At the age of 18 he moved to Belgium club KSK Bereven, and stayed at the Belgian club for two-and-a-half seasons, scoring 3 goals in 70 league matches.

In January 2004, as KSK Bereven were hit with financial crisis he was transferred to Metalurh Donetsk for 2.1million euros where he quickly made a name for himself.

His performances at the Belgian side had caught the eye of Club Brugge KV’s former head coach Trond Sollied; who later became the head coach of Olympiacos CFP in the summer of 2005. He subsequently signed Yaya on a three year contract.

The young Ivorian impressed during the recently concluded African Nations Cup. In the quarter-final against Cameroon, and especially in the semi-final against Nigeria, Yaya Toure alongside Didier Zokora helped to neutralise the threat of established stars like Jay Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu.

The World Cup finals in Germany will be an opportunity for the versatile midfielder to showcase his talents and possibly seal his dream move to a very big club.

There are rumours circulating in Europe already that clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus and Manchester United are all interested in signing the midfield enforcer.

His older brother Kolo has recommended him to boss Arsene Wenger. Yaya did have a trial with Arsenal during his early days at Bereven. However boss Arsene Wenger couldn’t sign him due to problems securing a work permit for him.

Yaya Toure normally referred to as the ‘new Patrick Vieira’ because of his stature, is a dynamic runner who moves fast in closing down opponents, denying them time and space in midfield.

He is definitely one to watch at the World Cup Finals.

Arsene Wenger the Arsenal manager would have been happy to have the duo back because he currently has around eight defenders injured. And with a mouth watering Champions League second round tie against Real Madrid next Tuesday, he would need the experience of both Cote d’Ivoire internationals in defence.

Both Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue featured for Cote d’Ivoire in the Nations Cup final against host Egypt in which they lost 4-2 on penalties.

Such is the situation in Ivory Coast where civil conflict has shattered the economy and football academies for youth have become a growth industry.

This story in the Times Online captures the hope that football offers to children who are raised with little. The story is the same in poor communities all over the world. But for every Ronaldo or Kolo Touré who achieve fame and fortune there are hundreds of people who don’t.

Sadly, the way things are being set up in Ivory Coast there will be more than just failure to achieve on the football pitch. Without any education other than football, those who are not lucky or good enough to play in Europe will end up with few options in their adulthood.

The World Cup is a time of national pride and a time to marvel at the skills of some of the world’s greatest athletes. Young children throughout Ivory Coast will cheer on their heroes and dream about their own future football success. Let’s hope that while they glued to their televisions and radios that they also get a message that there is much more to life than football.