Salomon Kalou believes that Ivory Coast should have done better to progress to the next stage. Sven-Goran Eriksson's side look set to crash out of Group G unless they can turn around a nine-goal disadvantage to Portugal in today's fixtures. The Elephants were hotly-tipped before the tournament, but a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Brazil has condemned them to an early flight home and they will need a miracle against North Korea.

Speaking to reporters, Kalou blamed high expectations as the cause for the squad's flop.

"Expectations were huge and we owed it to ourselves to perform well. But the pressure has caused us more stress than anything and even inhibited our talents," Salomon Kalou said.

"All of us have put lots of pressure on ourselves because this World Cup is being played on our continent.

"There have been a few players who haven't been up to the standard required. Their abilities have been crushed by the pressure they've put on their own shoulders."

Didier Drogba’s teammate at Chlesea Salomon Kalou is one of the men the Elephants are highly counting on as days close in to the World Cup.

The young and combative striker is currently in Switzerland alongside 29 other players summoned by coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for a preliminary grouping, from which the final South Africa-bound 23-man squad will emerge.

Speaking to France 24, a French satellite news station yesterday, Kalou assured his side could make it to the semi finals at the Mondial, considering the bunch of good talent.

“Playing a World Cup in Africa is great. It’s true we’re in a difficult group with Brazil and Portugal, but I can assure you we’ll create a surprise,” he said.

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HAT-TRICK hero Salomon Kalou denied he tried to talk Frank Lampard into allowing him to take the first half penalty that could have brought him his treble.

The Ivorian looked as if he wanted to take the spot-kick he had won after inducing a foul from Robert Huth. But he said he was convinced he would eventually get his chance to secure his first hat-trick for the Blues and so it proved.

“I haven't scored three since I was playing in Holland and it's been a long time,” Kalou said.

“But I didn't need to take it because it was the first half and I knew that I'd have other opportunities to score, so I wasn't worried about that.

“I didn't ask to take the penalty because I knew Frank wanted to score his goal and it's important to keep the confidence of everybody high because we know at this stage of the competition, we need everybody to be at his best.”

Kalou, all smiles and clutching the match ball signed by his team-mates added: “I'm glad that I got my first hat-trick, because it shows that I can be in the first XI and I try to push the manager to give me a place.

“It was very important to take the three points and go back in front in the table. Everyone was at his best today and we played very well.

Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou is hoping that Carlo Ancelotti will have taken note of his goal against Cardiff City in the FA Cup at the weekend and will soon name him in his first choice line-up once again.

The Ivorian has struggled for match action since returning from the African Cup of Nations at the end of January and was pleased that he'd managed to score against the Bluebirds. "I haven't been playing lately and to get in the team and score a goal is very important for my confidence," he explained, according to Press Association Sport.

"You can build a lot of confidence for the next game from it" he told Paris En Ligne Foot.

Kalou's confidence was also boosted by the quality of players on Chelsea's substitutes' bench. Being able to change a game by bringing on fresh players is a key part of being successful, according to the striker.

"That is how you win prizes. You need to have a strong bench, people who can come on and turn a game around," he added. "We always go for every competition and it is a good feeling to still be in the FA Cup because we know the other top three are out and there is a good chance for us to continue to try to win it again."

Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti praised the persistence of Salomon Kalou after he scored twice in the 4-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid.

Kalou replaced the suspended Didier Drogba and missed a great chance before finally breaking the deadlock.

"Kalou is an important player for us because when we are without Drogba he can play and do well," said Ancelotti.

"He made a big mistake at the start, but he maintained good motivation and focus to score twice after that."

Kalou's early opportunity came after Deco and Michael Ballack cut open the Atletico defence but the Ivory Coast striker shot wide from 14 yards.

He finally opened the scoring when he converted a drilled cross from Ashley Cole and added Chelsea's second with a header after the restart.

"Kalou is a very good player," added Ancelotti.

"For him, it was very important to score. Also for us. He played very well for us."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti conceded that his side lacked sharpness after they needed a late rally to salvage a draw against Reading yesterday.

The coach attributed a far-from-convincing performance to the fact that the previous day the players had undergone after a strength session in training, although he claimed, ahead of next Sunday’s Community Shield fixture against Manchester United: “Now the team is in good condition.”

A powerful late recovery preserved the Premier League team’s unbeaten sequence in pre-season friendlies, following four victories on their US tour.

Chelsea should have capitalised on their early domination, but Reading’s Jimmy Kebe and Scott Davies scored before half-time. Salomon Kalou’s last-minute goal and an own goal afforded Chelsea belated reward as they finished with a flourish.

Arsenal have been linked with a bid to sign Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou as a replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor.

Arsene Wenger has £25m to spend on reinforcements after the sale of Adebayor to Manchester City.

And reports suggest that he has targeted Kalou for a fee of around £7m, and is hoping that he can tempt the Ivorian to switch London clubs.

Kalou joined Chelsea in 2006, but has struggled to gain regular first team football at Stamford Bridge.

However, a source claimed: "Salomon is flattered by Arsenal's interest, but at the moment he is fully committed to Chelsea."

Chelsea's players and staff might not be in Seattle long enough to truly enjoy all the city has to offer in the summertime, but the soccer fans here were certainly glad to have the Blues in town.

Hundreds waited in line in the heat Friday afternoon at Qwest Field just to watch Chelsea run through a few drills, scrimmage a bit and stretch — and maybe get a scarf or catch a mini-ball tossed into the stands.

A lot of those fans could be back today to watch Chelsea play Sounders FC in a friendly. It's the first game of a four-match American tour for Chelsea that the team is using to tune up for its Premier League season.

"We've been away for four weeks," said Chelsea forward-midfielder Salomon Kalou. "To come back and play this kind of game is good. It's going to be a difficult game, but even though we are not really 100 percent, we have to do our best to win the game."

Chelsea’s Cote D’Ivoire forward Salomon Kalou (pictured right) edged Marseille’s Bakari Kone out of the FTBL Top 23 of African forwards after Cote D’Ivoire’s 3:2 away victory over Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier on June 20.

Neither Kalou nor Kone scored or even played the entire game, but Kalou, having spent more time on the pitch than his teammate, boosted his overall rating to 132 points, against Kone’s 127.95 points.

Striker Didier Drogba, who scored the winner for Cote D’Ivoire, moved up three steps in the rating. With a tally of 162.09 points, Drogba is solidly in 2nd in the Top 23 of African forwards behind Barcelona’s Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o (181.80 points).