Former Arsenal player Gervinho says the Ivory Coast national team are supposed to be in every World Cup tournament in an interview he granted to FIFA.com.
The player, who plies his trade currently in China, said the club had done everything to help him settle at the club and it was showing in his performance. He added that he was already familiar with the city of Qinhuandao since he played in the 2008 Olympic Football Tournament there.
He spoke highly of the clubs he played for, adding that they were all a building ground for the next. The player, who has 70 caps in his international career for Ivory Coast, spoke about his experiences being the captain since Didier Drogba retired. He spoke about the challenges associated with being captain but said he was handling it well. He said since they were the holder of the African Nations Cup that the bar has been set high especially as they get set to defend the title in Gabon.
He mentioned that they have qualified for three World Cup tournaments but that the calibre of players in the team deserves to appear at every edition. He claimed his focus was helping the national team get their fourth straight World Cup qualification in a row. He said it was more difficult to qualify for the World Cup finals as there were just five slots but that the Ivory Coast have a real chance but that the team would ensure they get there.
He added that his target was to finish in the top tight at the club level even though his club was behind Guangzhou Evergrande in second place at the moment. Successfully defending their African crown and exceeding expectations at the World Cup were also part of his short term targets.