The Ivory Coast federation president Jacques Anouma says they are confident that their  new coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will help them to cause World Cup surprises in South Africa.

Ivory coast are in a difficult group alongside Brazil, Portugal and  North Korea but Jacques Anouma believes the former England manager will help them at the tournament.

“I think he can help us to create an upset at the World Cup,” said Anouma on the Ivorian Football Federation’s website.

“It is true that Portugal and Brazil are the two favourites in our group but we must trust,” added the federation president.

There were some criticism in the Ivorian media over the Swede’s short contract and the president said they have not wasted to hire a couch for World Cup only saying it is financially difficult to hire such type of coach for two years.

“I ask my countrymen not to rush to judgement. We have not wasted by hiring a coach for the World Cup only. Financially it would have been difficult to hire a coach of that level for two years. After the World Cup we will reflect on the future of the Elephants for the 2012 African Nations Cup finals,” Anouma said.

“We will have a road map for the next coach and I would not rule out the possibility of local coach getting the job. We are planning for the future.”

Eriksson was appointed on Sunday as new Ivory coast coach in place of the Bosnian-born Vahid Halilhodzic, who was sacked after the Ivory Coast’s poor performance at the African Nations Cup in Angola in January.

Photo courtesy: MTN Football