Former France captain Marcel Desailly believes Ivory Coast are the strongest African team ahead of the World Cup.

Just like Ghana, the Ivorians are making a third straight appearance at the global showpiece after qualifying at the expense of Senegal.

After failing to go pass the group stages in their two previous attempts, Desailly believes the Elephants will stand out in the upcoming tournament.

"It's a shame that the number of African teams going to the World Cup is mainly from West Africa. The East African and Southern Africa are really lagging behind and that should not happen," Desailly told SuperSport.

"As for the five that will go to Brazil, I think Cote d'Ivoire are the favourites to do better than Ghana in South Africa and reach the semifinals."

"African federations must invest in the system to ensure that they nurture the talent to improve and compete with the rest of the continents when it comes to competitions."

Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Algeria and Cameroon will represent Africa in Brazil 2014.