Ivory Coast v. Portugal 0-0 15/Jun/10

First Round, First Game, Group G, Day 5. (13 of 64)


The Ivorian keeper was beaten but the post prevented any celebration.
[Photo: Reuters via Daily Mail]


As far as it went in Group G matches, the panorama looked bright with the sunshine in, ehm, Port Elizabeth when the Ivorians drew with Portugal in a goalless and nearly unemotional match. Even when points were shared there seemed to be at least three clear chancs and several factors must be taken into consideration: both teams' stars were under certain kind of spell. The Ivorian Drogba -Arsenal's tormentor- played with a cast and Ronaldo was fouled after putting a howler in the post.

Despite both team's inconsistencies, each managed to produce some mediocre chances on goal and some interesting deployments regarding tactical situations. The Ivorian's industrious midfielder Gervinho made some charming runs in his side while Ronaldo's brief ten-minute cameo should be enough to see him recover some confidence he left at Madrid.



CR9 facing the furious Demel
[Photo: AFP/Getty Images via Daily Mail]


Before Tiote's wide shot in the 15th minute, the best of the match was pretty much done as Cristiano shot twice; the latter, in the tenth minute, in the post. Barry's men, were defenceless against the possession the Portuguese were holding. With the passing of minutes the Ivorians regained possession and were able to reorder their defensive stance.

Fabio Coentrao's runs were practically the best the Europeans could show; on the other side it was Gervinho whose ability got him several times ahead of his marker, Paulo Ferreira. With fifteen minutes on the clock it was time for another exchange in possession as Danny and Deco made some frivolous attempts to grab a shot.



Cristiano and Meireles amazed.
[Photo: Getty Images via Telegraph]


Larrionda's poor refereeing was a factor; when he should have shown a yellow he let the play go on. Probably this is one of the causes of Ronaldo's poor performance. The second half went as the previous one: a feeble exchange of possession between large chunks of the game. Liedson and Simao were the main providers Portugal's plays. With the introduction of Drogba, in the 66th minute, things looked promisory for the Ivorians.

It was obvious that the lack of game and training did its worst on the Chelsea forward. His injury probably got him into a series of poor challenges. Drogba's final effort provided his team of an unusual chance to head into target. The problem of this early World Cup matches is that everyone in every team appears to be out of shape. Probably for some Premier League players of both sides the exhausting campaign may have taken its toll.