Didier Drogba - International Career

International Career

Drogba is a Côte d'Ivoire international and helped the team qualify for its first ever World Cup, held in Germany in 2006. His first cap came on 8 September 2002 against South Africa and he scored his first goal with "The Elephants" on 11 February 2003 against Cameroon in a 3–0 victory.

In February 2006, Drogba captained Côte d'Ivoire to their second African Cup of Nations final, scoring the only goal in their semi-final match with Nigeria and putting away the deciding spot-kick in their record-tying 12–11 penalty shootout quarter-final win over Cameroon. However, they lost in the final to Egypt 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw, with Drogba's shot being stopped by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary in a penalty shoot-out.

In the 2006 World Cup, Côte d'Ivoire were drawn in a "group of death" with Serbia and Montenegro, the Netherlands and Argentina. On 11 June 2006, Drogba scored the first World Cup goal of his career and of his country's history in the opening game against Argentina, but his team lost. Côte d'Ivoire were eliminated from the World Cup after their next game, a 1–2 defeat to the Netherlands, but came from 0–2 down to win against Serbia and Montenegro 3–2 in their final group game, with Drogba watching from the sidelines following suspension.

In the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire were drawn in a group with Nigeria, Mali and underdogs Benin. Drogba scored two goals in the group stage, opening the scoring in the 4–1 win over Benin and the first on the score sheet again in the 3–0 win over Mali. In the quarter finals, Drogba was on the score sheet once again in the 5–0 thrashing of Guinea with the last four goals coming in the final twenty minutes. The semi final was a rematch of the 2006 final against Egypt, but it was to be the end of the road for Drogba and Côte d'Ivoire, at the hands of the 2006 champions, losing 4–1 and then had no more luck in third place play-off, losing 4–2 to Ghana.

He scored 6 goals in 5 qualification games to helped the Côte d'Ivoire qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Drogba scored one goal in the 3–1 victory against Ghana in the group stage. Côte d'Ivoire reached the quarter finals but lost 2–3 to Algeria.

In March 2010, he was named as the 2009 African Footballer of the Year, his second time winning the award in his career.

On 4 June 2010, Drogba was injured in a friendly match with Japan. He received the injury in a high challenge from defender Túlio. He fractured his ulna in his right arm and had an operation the next day in the hope of making the finals. On 15 June 2010, Drogba was cleared by FIFA to play in the Côte d'Ivoire's first group game against Portugal wearing a protective cast on his broken arm. The match ended in a goalless draw at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium with Drogba coming on in the 65th minute. On 20 June 2010, Drogba became the first player from an African nation to score against Brazil in a World Cup match, scoring with a header in the 78th minute as the Côte d'Ivoire were defeated 1–3. On 25 June 2010, the Côte d'Ivoire went out of the competition despite winning 3–0 against North Korea in their final match.

In the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire were drawn in a group with Sudan, Angola and Burkina Faso. Drogba scored the first goal for his team in the tournament against Sudan and his only goal in the group stage. In the quarter finals, Drogba scored twice in the 3–0 win over Equatorial Guinea. He didn't score in the semi-final in which Côte d'Ivoire has beaten Mali 1–0. In the final against Zambia, Drogba missed a penalty kick in the last 15 minutes of the game, which ended by their loss for the second time by penalty shootout.