Cape Town - Yaya Toure admits he will have to consider his international future
after the 2014 World Cup, but would prefer to bring down the curtain having
achieved some sort of success.
The Manchester City midfielder is one of several world-class
players that make up the star-studded Ivory Coast national team, although the
current generation have failed to live up to their billing, with the country's
last major title having come in 1992 when they won the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 31-year-old is currently gearing up for next week's World Cup
finals in Brazil, which arguably represents his last chance to lift a trophy
with the Elephants, and Toure admits he would be gutted to finish his international
career without having achieved any glory.
"We have an amazing squad of players and we all think it is
about time we reach our full potential," Toure, a two-time Premier League
winner with City, told the Sunday Mirror.
"When I look around and see players like Drogba, Kalou, Bony,
Gervinho and Zokora, I can only be filled with confidence.
"Why we haven't gone on to win a trophy is something that I
can't understand. We want and we hope we make it soon because some of us
haven't got a lot of time left to be winners.
"It won't be long until we have to step aside and let the
younger generation come through.
"It is important to me that, when I do stop playing for Ivory
Coast, I leave in a good moment.
"I have always said I would stop once I had won something,
and maybe that has brought some bad luck to the team.
"I am thinking about it, but I haven't made a decision about
when it will happen. I will see what happens at the World Cup.
"It's a very difficult decision and I want to do it at the
right moment."