Chelsea and Côte d’Ivoire striker Didier Drogba has set his sights firmly on World Cup glory with his home nation.  The powerful striker, regarded by many as the best frontman in the world, scored the equalising goal that secured the Cote d’Ivoire’s place in South Africa and admitted he has grandiose plans for the tournament next summer.

“It is going to be a challenge,” explained Drogba. “To make it to the final will not be easy because there are great teams like Brazil and Germany who have won the World Cup for many years.

“But my team-mates and I want to make history and want to change the way the world sees African football.

“I hope that we’ll be the team that is going to go to the final and win the competition.”

If any African nation is going to emerge victorious in South Africa chances are it will be the Cote d’Ivoire.  They have the one of the best strikers in the world in Drogba and a true star is almost a requirement if you are to win the greatest prize in World football (though Germany and Italy may disagree with that statement).  Drogba’s considerable talent is backed up by the lies of Chelsea team-mate Solomon Kalou, Barcelona’s Yaya Toure and Manchester City’s Kolo Toure who are all top quality players.  Midfielder Emmanuel Koné is also a decent player, while youngster Cheik Tioté has impressed at Dutch side FC Twente.  They have quality in their squad but I’m not sure they have the strength in depth to win the World Cup.

Drogba is an extremely driven player and I have no doubt that he would love to challenge for the World Cup but in all honesty I think it will still be some time before we see an Africa nation as serious contenders for the most prestigious of prizes.  The Cote d’Ivoire may surprise a few people but getting to the final may be one step too far.  You would expect Brazil to be the tournament favourites, or Euro champions Spain, while England, Germany, Italy and Argentina (should they make it!) will also be amongst the favourites.  It would be romantic for an African nation to win it the first time the competition is held in the continent but I can’t see any of the African nations upsetting the apple cart and taking the trophy at the end of the competition personally.

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Irish racing tips and World Cup betting picks for Betfair.