Didier Drogba is a former professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

er who represented the Ivory Coast national team from 2002 to 2014. He made his debut for the Ivory Coast in a

2004 African Cup of Nations qualification Qualification for the 2004 African Cup of Nations. Qualified teams * * * * (qualified as holders) * * * * * * * * * * * (qualified as hosts) * Qualifying round Of the 52 nations, only Somalia didn't take part, Cameroon qualified as holders an ...

match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in September 2002. He scored his first international goal on his next appearance for the Ivory Coast, in a 3–0 win against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

in a friendly in

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate ...

, France. On 8 August 2014, Drogba announced his retirement from international football with a record of 65 goals in 105 appearances, ending his international career as his country's all-time top scorer, remaining so , and with the third-most appearances, behind

Didier Zokora Déguy Alain Didier Zokora (born 14 December 1980) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He represented the Ivory Coast national team for 14 years, beginning in 2000, and is currently the nation's mos ...

(123) and

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Championship side Wigan Athletic. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory Co ...

(120). Drogba scored one

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

during his international career, scoring the opening three goals in a 6–1 victory for the Ivory Coast against Burundi in a 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification match. He has also scored a goal twice in a match on twelve occasions, including one against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

in October 2012; the game was abandoned shortly after Drogba's second goal as fans rioted, throwing food and drinks onto the pitch, although the Confederation of African Football declared the 2–0 victory would stand. He has scored more goals against

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

(seven) than any other country. Nineteen of his goals were scored in his hometown stadium of Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

. Fourteen of Drogba's goals were scored from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

. Drogba scored more international goals in friendlies than in any other format, with 23 in 42 matches. He scored eighteen goals in

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualifiers at almost one goal per game (nineteen matches), and two goals at the World Cup finals. In the Africa Cup of Nations, he scored eleven goals in twelve qualifying matches, and eleven goals in twenty-four matches at the tournaments. As of September 2020, he is the 22nd highest men's international goal scorer of all time, and third highest scorer for an African nation, behind

Godfrey Chitalu Godfrey Chitalu, nicknamed Ucar (22 October 1947 – 27 April 1993), was a Zambian footballer who played as a forward. He is widely regarded as the greatest Zambian player of all time as he holds his national team's goalscoring record and wa ...

and

Kinnah Phiri Kinnah Phiri (born 30 October 1954) is a Malawian football coach and former player who is the head coach of Jwaneng Galaxy. Playing career Born in Blantyre, Kinnah began playing football for local side Big Bullets F.C., and in 1982 was offered a ...

International goals

:''Ivory Coast listed first, score column indicates score after each Drogba goal.''

Statistics

References

External links

Didier Drogba
at

Ivorian Football Federation The Ivorian Football Federation (french: Fédération Ivoirienne de Football, FIF) is the governing body of football in Ivory Coast and is in charge of the Ivory Coast national team and other footballing matters in the country. The top teams ...

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