Ivory Coast Coach Michel Resigns After Victory

Henri Michel is going out a winner -- even if Ivory Coast failed to qualify for the World Cup’s second round.

Michel, who took Ivory Coast to the final of the African Cup of Nations in February before losing to Egypt on penalties, quit as coach on Wednesday, announcing his decision after the Elephants’ 3-2 victory over Serbia and Montenegro.

“I had a goal, which I reached: qualification for this World Cup and the last African Cup of Nations,” Michel said. “I would have liked to have done better things in this World Cup but now I’m going to leave this Ivory Coast team and coach a club in Qatar. That’s all I have to say.”

The win followed losses to Argentina and the Netherlands.

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Branko Ivankovic quit as Iran coach after his team exited in the first round after a draw and two defeats. Ivankovic announced before the tournament that he would be stepping down after the World Cup ended.

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France must beat Togo by two goals Friday to guarantee it reaches the second round. Considering that the French have only scored one goal in their last five World Cup matches, that might not be such an easy task for the 1998 champions, who failed to make it out of the first round four years ago.

“It would be a huge, huge deception if we went out again,” midfielder Patrick Vieira said. “Worse than in 2002.”