Marc Wilmots has been appointed the man in charge of guiding Cote D’Ivoire towards their World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying targets as coach of the national team.
Former Belgium national team coach was confirmed as the Elephants’ tactician this week by the country’s soccer federation.
The 48-year-old begins his new post immediately, taking over from caretaker coach Ibrahim Kamara, who replaced Frenchman Michel Dussuyer when he was sacked following the 2017 AFCON failure.
Having won the 2015 Nations Cup under Herve Renard, the Elephants returned to defend their title in Gabon earlier this year, only to disappoint fans with dire performances that saw them falter in the group stages.
Wilmots comes into the role at a time when the Elephants need strong leadership to ensure they continue on a path to qualifying for the next World Cup, as the West Africans have built a reputation for securing one of Africa’s five qualifying spots on a consistent basis.
As a player the Belgian was vastly experienced and widely respected, playing at four World Cups for his national team, while guiding Belgium into the 2014 World Cup during his as the national team coach between 2012-2016.
Wilmots will need to focus his new team on their immediate objectives, which includes qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as well as the 2019 AFCON in Cameroon.
His first opportunity to assess his players and determine the strengths and weaknesses within his squad will come in upcoming friendlies with Russia and Senegal this month.
After two games in World Cup qualifying the Elephants are at the top of Africa zone group C with four points from two games, ahead of Morocco and Gabon on two, while Mali is bottom with one point. Only the group winners will qualify for the World Cup finals.
