page_title: Yaya Touré
section_title: International career
hierarchical_section_title: Yaya Touré / International career
caption_attribution_description: ÖFB freundschaftliches Länderspiel - Österreich vs Elfenbeinküste am 14. November 2012 The making of this work was supported by Wikimedia Austria. For other files made with the support of Wikimedia Austria, please see the category Supported by Wikimedia Österreich. Elfenbeinküste Nr. 19: Yaya Touré
context_page_description: Gnégnéri Yaya Touré is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and last played for Chinese Super League club Qingdao Huanghai.
  Touré aspired to be a striker during his youth and has played centre-back, including for Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. However, he has spent the majority of his career as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country, where he has been regarded as one of the world's best players in his position. One of the greatest African players of all time, Touré was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
  Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut at age 18. His performances attracted attention from Europe. He had stints with Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos and Monaco before moving to Barcelona in 2007. He played over 100 matches for the club and was part of the historic 2009 Barcelona side that won six trophies in a calendar year. In 2010, Touré moved to Premier League club Manchester City, where he scored a number of key goals, most notably the only goals in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and final.
context_section_description: Touré has been a regular member of the Ivory Coast national team since his debut in 2004. In 2014, he was named captain of the team after the retirement of Didier Drogba. In November 2014, he won his 100th international cap in a 0–0 draw with Cameroon.
  In 2006, Touré appeared for les Éléphants in all three of the team's matches at its first ever World Cup. In the 2010 tournament, he again appeared in all of the Ivory Coast's matches, scoring the opening goal in a 3–0 win over North Korea. Touré made his third World Cup appearance during the 2014 competition, and captained the team in their opening match – a 2–1 defeat of Japan in which he was named man of the match by FIFA.
  Touré has represented the Ivory Coast at six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015; ending as runners-up in the 2006 and 2012 editions, and winners in 2015. Touré was named in the CAF's team of the tournament in 2008, 2012 and 2015. On 4 February 2015, Touré scored the opening goal in the Ivory Coast's 3–1 semi-final victory over DR Congo to qualify les Éléphants for their third Africa Cup of Nations Final in nine years. On 8 February, Touré captained the Ivory Coast to its first AFCON win since 1992 with a penalty shootout defeat of Ghana at the Estadio de Bata in Equatorial Guinea.
  On 20 September 2016, Touré announced his retirement from international football. He returned to the national team set-up in March 2018.
caption: Touré playing for the Ivory Coast in 2012
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