Eriksson Appointed Cote D'Ivoire Coach
Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has been appointed coach of the Elephants of La Cote d'Ivoire.
The Swede's appointment was announced on Sunday.
He is eager to start work and plans to head to Europe to watch the likes of Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Eboue, Salomon Kalou, Kolo and Yaya Toure.
"There is a lot of hard work ahead of me but I like that," he said.
"I am extremely happy and very excited. The Ivory Coast is a good football nation with a lot of good players - it couldn't be better."
The World Cup will be Eriksson's third, having guided England to the quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006, and he is confident he has a strong squad at his disposal.
"Didier Drogba is one of the best strikers in the world and he has showed that for many years now in the Premier League.
"There are other great players too including Eboue at Arsenal, Salomon Kalou, Kolo Toure - and his brother Yaya at Barcelona.
"The only problem is that we are not together until May 22 but that is the same for most of the teams.
"I am going to start travelling from tomorrow to see all the players around Europe and in the Ivory Coast too."
Eriksson replaces Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, who was sacked last month after the Elephants failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.
Mark Hughes and former Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster had also been under consideration for the role after Guus Hiddink turned down the opportunity.
After Eriksson's appointment, a statement from the Ivorian football federation said: "He's an experienced coach who has proved himself.
"His objective is to ensure an honourable participation at the upcoming World Cup."
Ivory Coast, led by Chelsea striker Drogba, are drawn with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in Group G at the World Cup in South Africa in June and July.
Since leaving England after the 2006 World Cup, Eriksson managed Manchester City and the Mexican national team and most recently was director of football at Notts County. No details were given about the length of Eriksson's contract.