United by a team
The Elephants fortunes rose and fell during the course of the game — mostly down until the room exploded when the team’s star player Didier Drogba, a Chelsea striker, scored their one goal in the 82^nd minute — but hopes for peace in their nation remained constant.

“After the World Cup, the country will return to peace, because that’s what we’re working on,” said Kaba, who was born in the north but lived in the southern commercial capital, Abidjan, before coming to this country three years ago.

“We’ll have an election, and Ivory Coast will return to what it was before,” said Kaba, who believes that the fact that the team representing the country in the World Cup is mixed in terms of religions and ethnicities and straddles all lines of division created by the civil war has had a positive effect on the country.

And, indeed, though a series of peace promises over the past few years have failed to reunite the country, progress has been made in recent weeks on a U.N.-backed deal, with pro-government militias in promising to begin disarming on June 16 in preparation for national elections in October.

Kaba ticked off the list of ethnic groups represented on the squad — “the Dioula, the Baoulé, the Betié” — emphasizing the fact that it was not a team that represented one region.

Zidane, Materazzi banned, fined for incident Borges: Zidane lucky he doesn't play in U.S. Opinion: U.S. has 2 coaching options | Vote Arena out after 8 years as U.S. coach Best XI: top players, your picks for World Cup   Slide shows: Hairdos |   Damsels |   Beckham   Images: Highlights, more | MORE COVERAGE

The team is keenly aware that they are in a unique position to be a force for unity.

Drogba, the Elephant's captain, has made a point of saying that the team is a symbol of tolerance and a reflection of how the country was in the past: a diverse ethnic group forming one national identity.

According to news reports, after the team's decisive win over Sudan that guaranteed their place in the World Cup, Drogba led his team in a plea for peace.

"Ivorians, we ask for your forgiveness," they said. "Let us come together and put this war behind us."

Still hopeful
Mamadou Coulibaly, 39, who hails from Odienné, another city in the north of Ivory Coast echoed those hopes. “Everyone is actually united right now. We hope that will continue after the cup.”

“It’s our wish that we can win tonight so it will motivate everyone to be together," he said during half time.

On Saturday night, that wish didn’t come true and the Elephants fans were exhausted by the excitement and disappointment by the result of the match.

But with other games still to come and hopes still riding high, no one cares who is a “true Ivorian” or an “immigrant” on the soccer field, a feeling patrons at the Ivoire Restaurant hope will continue even when the World Cup is over.

Losseni Diabate, who was sporting an orange zip-up sweatshirt with Cote d’Ivoire (the country’s official name) running down the side in green-and-white lettering, was disappointed by the result, but still hopeful for the country’s future.

Diabate had been running a successful cocoa business in the western city of Daloa until 1999 when fears about the imminent war and unrest forced him to flee to this country. He now drives a cab for “Ivoire Car,” a livery cab company in New York, but is anxious to return home.

Surveying the crowd of Ivorians outside the restaurant after the game, Diabate said he hoped for peace at home “so we can all go back.”

One thing’s for sure, said Cisse Cheick Mohamed, the manager of the 15-year-old restaurant — that his mixed clientele would be back for the next match, against the Netherlands, on Friday.

MORE FROM SOCCER

Soccer Section Front

Ponytail takedown sparks outrage Gerrard's disputed penalty earns Liverpool draw Ronaldo receives libel damages over drink story Slideshow: The life of Beckham on and off the field MLS scores, schedules, standings, more Vote: Who will be MLS champions? Scores from England, Spain, Italy, more MORE ON SOCCER Soccer Section Front   Add Soccer headlines to your news reader: