A physically imposing striker, Abdoul Kader Keita was the one surprise name in Ivory Coast's 23-man World Cup squad. The 24-year-old did not feature in qualifying and was not a member of the squad that finished as runners-up at the 2006 African Cup of Nations. However, he was named in the team for a friendly against Spain in March and made a positive impression by scoring the first goal in a 3-2 defeat. Keita had spells with Ivorian side Africa Sports, Tunisian outfit Etoile Sportive de Sahel and Qatari club Al Sadd before joining Lille in the summer of 2005. He found the target six times as Lille finished third in his debut season in French top-flight football.