Ivory Coast have to deliver now, says coach

STUTTGART, June 15: Ivory Coast coach Henri Michel said today his team have a ''knife at their their throat'' as they face the Dutch in World Cup Group C.

The Ivorians collected the plaudits after their 2-1 debut defeat against Argentina but now need to pick up points against the highly-rated Netherlands on Friday.

''We know that if we lose we have to go home and that was not why we came to Germany,'' Frenchman Michel told reporters.

''We did well in the opening match but our opponent punished the small mistakes we made through a lack of experience.'' ''Now we have to prove what we are capable of and that we learned our lesson.'' The coach hoped that his team would not give away too many set pieces as defending them is one of their weaknesses.

The Dutch beat Serbia&Monenegro 1-0 in their Group C opener last weekend.

''At this moment I am not sure if we will start with the same team,'' Michel said. ''But I have the possibility to change a player, though there is no reason to change everything.''

REUTERS

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