I watched the north London derby in Ghana with Kolo Toure and when Spurs won he wanted to fight me, says Zokora

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For the past six weeks, the Tottenham midfielder has been representing Ivory Coast in the tournament - which has meant missing out on his club's upsurge in fortunes, including the Carling Cup semi-final victory over Arsenal.

To be deprived of the chance to perform in such a big club game irritated Zokora, but not half as much as the taunts of Ivory Coast team-mate, and Arsenal centre back, Kolo Toure while they watched the games together on TV - at least in the early stages of the tie.

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Spurs' 5-1 triumph in the second leg handed the club their first win over Arsenal for nine years and booked a place in the Carling Cup Final against Chelsea on 24 February.

It means the timing of the 26-year-old's return to Juande Ramos's squad couldn't be better - although his first priority is to help Tottenham get a positive result at Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Uefa Cup last-32 tie tonight.

Nevertheless, having bragging rights over Toure and the prospect of playing at Wembley have ensured he will take to the field in the best of spirits.

Zokora said: "I missed my team-mates while I was in Africa, but all of them did well. I kept in touch with all the results. I was able to watch every game on TV and we had many good performances.

"I watched the Tottenham-Arsenal games with Kolo and when Spurs won I was very happy, but Kolo wanted to fight me because he was upset!

"I told him this is the first time we had beaten them for nearly 10 years and it was a great day for the club and the fans. I said I was sorry but I was very happy to get to the final.

"After the result there was also a lot of talk between me and Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, the Chelsea players in the Ivory Coast squad.

"Didier was saying that he has won this trophy two times with Chelsea and I couldn't say anything in reply. But I will do my talking on the pitch and I told him 'I will see you on 24 February'.

"It will be great if we can end the month with our first trophy for a few years. It would be a good achievement for the manager and the players."

The prospect of being part of the crowning moment of that achievement is being used by Ramos to motivate his players for tonight's clash in the Czech Republic.

Dangling the carrot of a Wembley run-out in front of his players, the Spurs boss said: "For every match we look at the form of every single player and we decide who is going to play - so no-one has secured his position. It all depends on who is the best and is in the best condition.

"We are now in the process of qualifying matches in the UEFA Cup before the Carling Cup Final and we are not really thinking about who is in the line up or what we will do."

Zokora is certainly tempted by Ramos's bait, and added: "It is my dream to play at Wembley. It will be a fantastic game and I am very happy. It will be the best thing so far in my career.

"But first we have Slavia and it's a massive game. It won't be easy but if we manage to get an away goal it will make things easier for the rest of the tie."

Captain Ledley King is unlikely to be risked tonight due to concerns over his ongoing knee problems in the freezing conditions in the Czech Republic.