Yaya Toure: Cote d'Ivoire ready to live up to their potential

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Yaya Toure: Cote d'Ivoire ready to live up to their potential

Yaya Toure believes Cote d'Ivoirecan finally live up to their potential by winning the Africa Cup of Nations this year for the first time since 1992.

The Elephants boast one of the most experienced squads in Equatorial Guinea despite Didier Drogba's international retirement, with the likes of Kolo Toure, Wilfried Bony and Gervinho expected to play prominent roles.

And Yaya Toure is confident they will improve on their quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual winners Nigeria two years ago in South Africa.

"We have been chasing this trophy for a few years now, and we've not got it," he toldGoal. "This year it's time again to try to do it and I hope that at long last we have it in us.

"We can do it. I am fighting for it."
Cote d'Ivoire will face six games in three weeks if they reach the last four - and subsequently the final or third-place playoff - and Toure admits the quality of the pitches in Equatorial Guinea could make that run gruelling.

They have not, however, been drawn to play in remote Mongomo in the group stage, where a new surface was la!d only weeks ago.
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"It’s not easy," Toure confessed. "Most of the players play in Europe on good pitches. In Africa sometimes it's totally different."