New coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says Ivory Coast cannot rely solely on goals from striker Didier Drogba at the World Cup.
Eriksson named his provisional 30-man squad in Abidjan on Tuesday with no major surprises, but said Ivory Coast will need more than just the goalscoring talents of the English Premier League's top scorer if the team is to live up to its potential.
"It's not enough to hope Drogba will go out and score some goals," Eriksson said. "If we don't play as a team, we cannot be impressive.
"Quality isn't enough in football, you need to work together."
Eriksson included Drogba, Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou, Aruna Dindane of Lens, Barcelona's Yaya Toure and defenders Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue.
Eriksson, the former Mexico and England manager, was named as Vahid Halilhodzic's successor in March. Halilhodzic was sacked after Ivory Coast and its many talented, European-based players crashed out of the African Cup of Nations in January at the quarterfinal stage.
"There are big expectations," Eriksson said of the upcoming World Cup. "We are in a difficult group but the challenge is to move forward.
"We have to be more than ready ... because we have difficult games right away."
Eriksson said he was optimistic, despite being placed in the toughest group in the tournament. The Ivorians will face five-time winner Brazil, Portugal and the unknown North Korea in Group G.
Eriksson's squad also includes Sevilla midfielders Didier Zokora and Romaric, and forwards Abdul Keita, Marseille's Bakari Kone and Lille's young striker Gervinho.
The Swedish coach took charge after a much-publicized managerial chase from the Ivorian Football Federation which also involved former Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink, who is now in charge of Turkey.
Eriksson, who led England at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, said he needs time with the team. He took over on March 28.
"Before we start talking about the tactics, let me start working with the players," Eriksson said. "We cannot make a revolution in a couple of weeks."
Ivory Coast Football Federation president Jacques Anouma said the country's pre-World Cup training will take place in two phases.
The first phase, from May 17-23, will involve players not playing for their overseas clubs. The remaining foreign-based players are due to join up with the squad on May 24 at the newly unveiled national training center just outside Abidjan.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (KSC Lokeren), Vincent Angban (ASEC Mimosas) Daniel Yeboah (ASEC Mimosas), Aristide Zogbo (Maccabi Netanya)
Defenders: Souleman Bamba (Hibernian), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal), Abdoulaye Meite (West Bromwich Albion), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes), Kolo Toure (Manchester City), Guy Demel (Hamburg), Steve Gohouri (Wigan) Benjamin Angoua (Valenciennes),
Midfielders: Emerse Fae (Nice), Koffi Romaric N'Dri (Sevilla), Cheick Tiote (Twente), Yaya Toure (Barcelona), Gilles Yapi Yapo (Young Boys), Didier Zokora (Sevilla), Kanga Akale (Lens), Emmanuel Kone (Cluj)
Forwards: Aruna Dindane (Portsmouth), Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Abdul Keita (Galatasaray), Bakari Kone (Marseille), Gervinho (Lille), Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso (Monaco), Lacina Traore (Cluj)
