Although that was not enough to see them through to the second round, it marked the emergence of the Elephants as a genuine force to be reckoned with.

And it came as no surprise when their group in South Africa this summer, containing Portugal, Brazil and North Korea, was quickly labelled the 'Group of Death'.

However, since their progress in Germany, the west African country has struggled to kick on and remain one of the biggest underachievers in the world game.

Eighteen appearances in the continental finals have yielded a solitary title, in 1992, while their appearance in the World Cup finals is only be the second in their history.

The first one four years ago heralded the arrival of their golden generation, led by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and including the likes of Salomon Kalou, Gervinho, Didier Zokora, Aruna Dindane and brothers Kolo and Yaya Toure.

All are guilty, though, of not pulling their weight on the international stage and their latest setback at this year's African Nations Cup, where they were beaten by Algeria in the quarter-finals, brought about the sacking of coach Vahid Halilhodzic.

Former England and Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has since been installed as his replacement, but he faces a "big challenge" according to Kolo Toure, the former Arsenal defender now playing at Eastlands.

"I'm very excited about it," he told City's official website, www.mcfc.co.uk.

"I've spoken to a few people at the club who remember him (Eriksson) from his time here and I've heard lots of good things about him.

"It's a big challenge for him. The team needs a bit of confidence, but we have some very good players and we just need to get a bit of belief in ourselves back.

"We needed somebody with experience with the World Cup coming up and now we really have one, someone who has done so much in football down the years.

"He is one of the world's top managers and with us not having much time to the World Cup we need to work with him when we can quickly and intelligently."

Drogba agrees, adding: "There is no doubt Sven will succeed.

"This is someone who knows the game inside out. I have every belief in his ability to take us far and even exceed the targets set for him. I think he has come at the right time."

Positive sentiments from two extremely experienced players, who will be well aware that a coach alone may not be enough to turn around their fortunes.

Age is also a factor for several of their high-profile players. Drogba, 32, could be featuring for the last time on such a stage, while Kolo Toure, Zokora and Dindane are approaching their 30th birthday.

With time running out to their June 15 kick-off against Portugal in Port Elizabeth/Nelson Mandela Bay, the rebuilding work needs to move forward quickly.

For Kolo Toure, the World Cup will depend a lot upon confidence in the squad.

He added: "We just need to believe in ourselves. We are in our home and we need to put pressure on any team that we play.

"It's going to be really exciting. It's going to be a great, great tournament for us because it's the first time an African nation has a great chance because there are really big teams, big countries who are in this World Cup, like Cameroon, Nigeria, ourselves, Ghana and Algeria.

"I think we have a great chance that we have all the big countries of African football in this World Cup and we just need to deliver."

But the former Arsenal defender is not too optimistic about a continental winner, adding: "The chance is really small but we're playing at home, we'll have a lot of fans but it will be really difficult for an African team to win."