Ivory Coast (National Football)

Every time Cristiano Ronaldo touched the ball in a scoring position, there was an Ivory Coast defender closing down on him.

Kolo Toure. His brother Yaya. Didier Zokora. Even Guy Demel. It didn’t matter who it was, they always made the timely tackle.

That was the story of the 0-0 draw between Portugal and the Ivory Coast.

It wasn’t the missed chances, or even the lack of chances. It was stalwart defense by a team known for being relatively lax in its own third.

Forget that Cristiano and company couldn’t find the net, and rarely challenged Ivory Coast’s keeper Boubacar Barry. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on their part. The Ivory Coast defense played all 90 minutes as well as they could have hoped to.

The back line of Kolo Toure, Zokora, Siake Tiene, and Guy Demel were physically superior, both in speed and strength to their Portuguese counterparts. And with Yaya Toure in front of them, patrolling the defensive half of the midfield, the back line was even more daunting.

And for the first time in a while, there were no mental lapses.

However, the same cannot be said on the other end of the pitch.

The Elephants controlled the ball for the majority of the match and came up with the most opportunities. They have no excuse for not finding the back of the Portugal net.

Gervinho carved up every defender Portugal threw at him, and the sheer speed of Salomon Kalou seemed overwhelming at times.

Only Arune Dindane seemed sluggish and behind the tempo of the game, and he was the only starting forward to finish the match.

But none of those players are out and out goal scorers. It doesn’t come naturally to them the way it does for Didier Drogba, who in his own right appeared sluggish for his 25 minutes of action (but who would’ve thought he’d produce more having had surgery on his arm only a week earlier?).

Five more days of training and the confidence boost he earned from staying on the pitch the whole time should be enough for the big talisman striker to start against Brazil.

Flank him with Kalou and Gervinho and suddenly the anemic offense on display against Portugal gets much, much better.

In reality, one natural goal scorer was the only thing that separated the two squads Tuesday, and Drogba should be ready to make an impact in the remaining two matches.

With Drogba, the goals will come. Without him, they have always struggled.

If the backline can contain the likes of Robinho, Luis Fabiano, and Kaka the way it controlled Ronaldo, the Elephants should have no trouble taking at least one point away from Brazil.

It could have been the Michigan vs Appalachian State of World Cup football.

But sadly, it wasn't.

North Korea held Brazil for the first half, conceded two goals, and managed to pull one back—but then time ran out.

But finally, our imaginations were allowed to live: Football has finally arrived.

1) Brazil

We expected Brazil to smash North Korea into the earth, and after they went 2-0 midway through the second half, the rout was on.

But in fact the nasty ghost—Brazilian defending—rose its ugly head as the 2002 World Cup winners failed to stop Ji Yun-nam, who beat four players and hammered it past the keeper.

The world held their breath, but Brazil got away with the three points.

2) Portugal - Ivory Coast

For you Twitter users, I'll sum this 0-0 draw up in 150 Characters: "What an awful game."

There you go.

Nothing else to say about this.

3) Cristiano Ronaldo

The goddawful game was highlighted by Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliant shot that hit the post early in the first half.

If there's any footballer who can keep this ball down, it's Ronaldo.

He'll be their source of inspiration this year.

4) 'Not Sacrificial' New Zealand Lambs

We were expecting New Zealand to be like their lamb: sacrificial.

But they were well-organised, battled the Slovakians, conceded a first goal and then scored a deserved equaliser in the 92nd minute, sending all those in Auckland who were actually awake to watch this into raptures.

We can only hoped some of them called their Australian 'neighbours' and said "We've got more point than you....."

5) Slovakia

Again, this is a disappointing team.

Italy and Paraguay shouldn't be worried about this team.

Star power. Intensity. Flair.

Portugal-Ivory Coast had all the ingredients for a classic World Cup match, but it sure didn't end up that way.

Playing to a 0-0 draw, Portugal-Ivory Coast may be the most disappointing match yet—for those who aren't English, anyway.

I had high expectations going in, so maybe that had something to do with it. However, the overall performances by these two incredibly talented teams left much to be desired.

Rather than seizing control of the Group of Death, both teams were unable to finish their (very few) chances. Each secured only one point.

That's been the story of the 2010 World Cup thus far: An inability to capitalize. Or in the cases of these two teams, have chances to capitalize on.

Outside of Germany-Australia, it's been a part of every match. Whether it's Argentina's Lionel Messi, England's Emile Heskey, or Mexico's Giovani dos Santos, players haven't been finding the back of the net when opportunities arise.

I wasn't expecting that in this one. Not when there are that many top notch players on the pitch.

For one, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo did more in the first 15 minutes than he did for the last 75. Outside of rocketing a shot off the post from 35 yards, the speedy midfielder didn't have a legitimate goal scoring chance.

Oh yeah, and that accounted for Portugal's lone shot on goal.

And this is a team favored to go far?

They are going to have to do a lot more than that if they don't want to get blown off the field by Brazil.

Same goes for Ivory Coast.

The World Cup dark horse had only two shots on goal to its name despite having 18 touches in the box.

Salomon Kalou was dangerous for the Elephants but that was about it. Even Didier Drogba coming on for about 20 minutes did nothing for Ivory Coast, as he only managed a half-chance.

So my question is this: When are goal scorers going to, you know, score?

This World Cup is supposed to be the coming out party for Ronaldo, Messi, and other superstar footballers. I'm not saying there needs to be four or five goals each game.

However, it sure is disappointing when players who rack up goals for their clubs don't do the same for their countries.

Of course, it's still early. Some teams haven't even stepped on the field yet. There is plenty of time for this problem to be remedied. Let's hope the goal scorers get in form and finish their chances in the next stage of group matches.

For Ivory Coast and Portugal, there is nowhere to go but up.

Confession time. Some of us Arsenal fans have a passion for Kolo Toure, the man mountain who holds the Ivory Coast back four together.

His brother Yaya, who is about to join Kolo at moneybags Manchester City, is also high in my affections. Arsenal had Yaya as a kid and quickly put him on their books after a fraternal trial, though he played for a club in Belgium.

Yaya was allowed to go to Barcelona, where he has established himself as one of Europe’s top African stars. Kolo, one of Arsenal’s title-winning Invincibles six years ago, has decamped for the Abu Dhabi-funded rebuilding process at Eastlands. Soon, if the reports are to be believed, they will both be together at City.

The pair of them made Portugal, ranked a too-lofty No. 3 in the world, look very ordinary in rain-swept Port Elizabeth.

The first Group G game followed the general binary pattern of this otherwise faultless World Cup. A bit of a burst early on, then caution as both sides attempted to avoid defeat. Tomorrow, when South Africa take on Uruguay at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, we hope the real action will begin as Group A moves into the second round of fixtures.

Truth is, losing your first game at the finals just isn’t acceptable. That’s why the scores so far read 1-1, 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 1-1, 0-1, 4-0, 0-1, 2-0, 1-0, 1-1, 1-1 and 0-0. Only Germany’s four-goal win over Australia relieved the monotony for these soggy fans who travelled so far.

The Portuguese community in South Africa, something of a lost tribe, number over a million. Most of the 42,000 braving the rain at the brand new Nelson Mandela Bay stadium had travelled 1,000 miles from Johannesburg for the rare chance to wave their flag with pride.

Sadly, apart from their idol Cristiano Ronaldo hitting a post from distance early on, they had little to celebrate.

Ronaldo was harshly booked soon afterwards and apart from a free-kick with the ultra-light Jabulani ball which flew over the bar like all the others in this tournament, they had little else to cheer.

Instead it was Ivory Coast, ranked 27 in the world, who were comfortably the dominant side, though they had to wait over an hour for the arrival of their talisman, Didier Drogba, who was given permission to play with a cast on his broken arm shortly before the game.

The two Toures shone throughout, as did Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue. Some may have been thrilled at the sight of a quintet of Chelsea stars—Kalou, Drogba, Ferreira, Carvalho, and Deco—but a win was not to be in a pitch cutting up badly. By the close it was a Drogba-inspired Cote d’Ivoire who were applying all the pressure.

But there was no magic moment to lift this game. Barely a save at either end, and we'll have to wait for Brazil later tonight to provide the magic this tournament so richly deserves. Ranked No. 1 in the world, surely the five-time world champions can give North Korea, at 105 the lowest ranked side at the finals, a good old-fashioned tonking in Group G’s second showdown?

The opening match of day five saw New Zealand grab their first-ever point in the World Cup finals. Winston Reid headed the last-gasp equaliser for the All Whites after Robert Vittek had put Slovakia ahead.

But with Paraguay and Italy drawing 1-1 the night before in Cape Town, both these sides will struggle to emerge from Group F after another less than heart-stopping 90 m inutes.

Ivory Coast boss Sven Goran Eriksson, the former England and Mexico coach, said: “Nobody wants to lose a game like this. We had some half chances and it was good to bring Drogba on. As a team we defend very well. We still have one point. Next we have Brazil, let’s see what we can do.”

Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter) is in South Africa to promote his first novel A GAME APART. For more information see www.nealcollins.co.uk . If you think the Scottish bagpipes should be banned rather than the Vuvuzela, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1hrMRk5FnY .

Ivory Coast vs Portugal

Ivory Coast has had some fantastic news in the form of Drogba’s possible early return from injury. Although it isn’t as if they’re short of talent going forward, Kalou and Dindane are both highly experienced in their respective top flights. Unfortunately for the Coast, this is quite possibly the worst group that the team could’ve found themselves in, having to contend with Portugal and Brazil to qualify and even with a fully fit squad, it is not something that is going to be easy.

Portugal has had a pretty good run of form in recent tournaments although if that is going to continue, then they absolutely have to win this match, considering the Brazilians lie in wait and any points dropped here could be enough to see the Ivory Coast go through instead of the Portuguese.

By now, we all know that the man to watch in this side is Ronaldo; without him they wouldn’t be even half the team they are. Expect to see a glowing performance from Ronaldo and if the Portuguese play like they did in the warm up, expect to see plenty of goals (seeing as they’ve scored six times in their last two matches).

Overall, this could be one of the better group opening matches. Both sides have got teams who are capable of showing us some spectacular goals, although for Ivory Coast this does hinge on the fitness of Drogba. Both teams have a bit of a free-flowing nature and hopefully this will come to the foreground pretty quickly, although it is likely that we’ll see both sides playing a little bit tenuously at the start of the game. After all—neither can really afford to lose this match.

Brazil vs North Korea

Unfortunately for the Koreans, the Brazilian second-stringers probably wouldn’t struggle too much to actually win this match. The Brazilian midsection will probably dominate the match and due to the massive gulf in quality, it doesn’t seem very likely that they’ll have any real problems.

The Koreans have pretty much been written off from progressing out of this group and to be perfectly honest they’d be lucky to get a point considering whom they’re up against.

Their side is not exactly of a high standard: most of their team comes from the pretty poor local leagues although a few have managed to scrape into the J league which is a much higher standard.

The Koreans will likely just be trying to avoid a major embarrassment at the hands of Brazil so expect to see a match thoroughly based on damage limitation—and good luck to them because they’re going to need it.

This match was only ever really going to go one way, and anybody, probably even the most patriotic North Koreans, will tell you that Brazil is more than likely going to win this match. The question is more a case of by how many goals. Odds are that Brazil will keep a clean sheet and probably score three or more goals. The Koreans have been full of surprises, nobody actually expected them to qualify, but this is just going to be one challenge too many and no amount of good form could possibly erase the gulf in class and allow the Koreans to get another surprising result.

Xavier - live scores and sports

Think of some of the all-time great moments in sports history when an injured player sucked it up and came through.

Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series limping up to the plate and then hitting the infamous game-winning home run off Dennis Eckersley.

Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open on one leg in 2008.

John Lester throwing his no-hitter for the Red Sox after overcoming cancer (not really overcoming an injury, granted, but damn inspiring).

The list is endless. But they all may be topped by one man at this year's World Cup.

If Didier Drogba comes running onto the pitch Tuesday in South Africa to play for the Ivory Coast against Portugal, it may be a moment for the ages.

Drogba broke his arm in a tune-up game for the Ivory Coast versus Japan last week, and then had surgery on the arm a day later.

Drogba was practicing with the team on Thursday, but Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was cautious in this press conference later.

"If the match had been today or tomorrow," Erikkson said, "he wouldn't be able to play. But in a few days. He might play."

One must consider how important Drogba is, not only to his team in this difficult Group G in which they find themselves, but back home in the Ivory Coast.

The 32-year-old Chelsea striker, who had a great season in leading Chelsea in the English Premier League Title, has his image painted on the sides of buildings throughout the Ivory Coast. Kids and adults alike walk the streets in Chelsea t-shirts and jerseys with Drogba's name written on them.

He is a hero in a land unlike few others in the world.

Arguably one of the top two or three strikers in the game, his ability to put the ball in the net is uncanny. His strength in winning balls near the goal, and then a precision touch to follow is what sets him apart.

The broken arm was a devastation to the country. Their hopes had been dashed. Surely this was the end.

They did find themselves, after all, in the toughest group in South Africa. Group G, with Brazil and Portugal the favorites, was a difficult enough challenge with Drogba. Without him, it was perhaps impossible.

The chance alone that he may play has brought this nation back together.

Drogba told Sportsworld, on the BBC World Service: "The expectation back home is really high. Most of our players play for big teams and have won things with big teams. But for the country we have won nothing.

"People speak about this generation being the best in Ivory Coast for years and that is why the expectation is so high, higher than in France or England.''

It is not like the Ivory Coast has no other talent. They are a good, deep team. They have two other great scoring threats in Gervinho and Salomon Kalou, Drogba's teammate with Chelsea. They also have a strong defense, led by Emmanuel Eboue of Arsenal.

But they need Drogba. He is their leader, their heart and soul. You simply cannot replace this kind of talent.

If indeed Didier Drogba plays against Portugal, no matter the outcome, it will be one of the great comebacks in sports history, certainly in World Cup history.

If Drogba cannot go against Portugal, five days later they take on Brazil, the other monster team of Group G, in their second game. If indeed they end up losing that first game to Portugal without Drogba, you can bet Didier will do everything in his power to be out there for that must win.

Just try and stop him.

With the 2010 World Cup just a day away, who do you think will be crowned champions in the tournament final the following month? Spain are the hot favourites to lift the trophy, possibly by their dominant display of football in the European Championships back in 2008 They also have a quality squad of high profile players to choose from. Also in contention are record holders Brazil, Italy and Germany, all with a good chance of increasing their haul. Personally I do not know who will come out victorious, but I have an outside bet on the Ivory Coast. They were extremely unlucky in Germany 2006 as they actually outplayed two tournament heavyweights for large portions of each game. Maybe they were let down tactically, but now with Sven Goran Erikkson in command surely they will have the edge they lacked previously. Also in their favour is the fact that this tournament is on their home continent, and the first ever World Cup in Africa. The 2010 South Africa Opening Ceremony will be broadcast live to the globe tonight, or this afternoon depending on your timezone! The real action starts tomorrow though with, hosts, South Africa playing Mexico. That game is later followed with France vs Uruguay, then day after day there will be football delight as the 32 finalists battle out the group stages. All in all, including the knockout stages, there will be 64 games of football to enjoy and plenty of drama i'm sure. If I had the time, I would watch every single match - at least until my home nation sinks (but hopefully they won't). Let South Africa 2010 World Cup begin! For more info check out www.live2010worldcup.com and DO NOT miss the Ivory Coast games. If they are as entertaining as they were in Germany 2006 then you are in for some exciting football. Also, if they have the right tactics and the fortunate luck needed to make it through, you could be watching the future world champions. You heard it here first!

A championship run can be the result of many factors effectively employed by coach and players.

Some coaches are key motivators. Others, tactical savants whose genius becomes more apparent during a golden run. But the one mitigating factor that no coach, general manager, or player has control over is injury.

An injury can occur at anytime, in any form, and on the most innocuous athletic circumstance. Prevention, however, should come with some logical preparation.

Maybe the logistics of Didier Drogba's situation are lost on an American soccer fan. This past Friday, one week from the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Ivory Coast striker suffered a broken elbow. Not in training, not in a freak accident. No, Drogba suffered the injury during a friendly match against Japan as a final warm up for the World Cup.

A friendly match, an athletic euphemism if there ever was one, may only apply to the game's exhibition-like final result. Athletes will compete no matter the stakes. And that's just what Japan's Marcus Tulio Tanaka did when he came in for a challenge with his right knee soaring across the pride of the Ivory Coast. Drogba immediately grabbed his arm then winced in pain and with him, millions of Ivoronians winced as well.

The 32-year-old remains the country's best hope to advance out of a brutally difficult group. Ivory Coast and North Korea are expected to be looking up at the international favorites Brazil and Portugal in order to reach the knockout stage. Drogba, fresh off of another English Premier League championship and golden boot award for his 29 goals, remains hopeful after surgery that he can help Les Éléphants advance on their home continent.

Considering the importance of Ivory Coast's all-time leading scorer and the magnitude of the event, shouldn't this situation have been handled with logistics of supply-and-demand in mind?

Why did Ivory Coast coach Sven-Göran Eriksson even allow his best offensive supply to suit up in game where the endeavor did not demand it? Though this may not be uncommon in the soccer world, it seems like from a logistical standpoint a coach would want his best player to avoid competition before a championship tournament.

The Ivory Coast's most important player suffered a possible World Cup-ending injury in a game where the supply needed to be shelved for a more important demand.

If even a mild sprain would take a couple of weeks to strengthen, then where is the necessity of playing Drogba just one week before the World Cup? It seems like the preferred style of sports preparation has become the game itself.

Though soccer is not as violent, its American counterpart, football, never plays a game outside of its season schedule and even dresses its most important position in a brightly colored jersey during practice so as to avoid any contact (Should my American brethren suggest that soccer possesses no violence in its competitions, then please take a gander during a 50-50 ball this World Cup). Logistics management in sports takes precedence because the supply chain, if not analyzed carefully, could trump a team's value of time and player utility.

The World Cup comes around once every four years. Great players like Drogba only have a select few years of their playing careers to capitalize on their prime and compete on the world's biggest stage. Drogba will be 36 for the next World Cup and his prime will remain here in 2010. And for what?

Ivory Coast ended up defeating Japan 2-0 yet at quite a cost. Perhaps if Eriksson took some time to evaluate his team's situation, he could have shelved Drogba as a precautionary measure. A week before the country's biggest competition, would anyone have questioned him?

Now, Eriksson must reanalyze that warehouse of talent for the Ivory Coast and figure out a way to finish second in Group G. A considerable demand for a country that just lost its best supply.

If indeed Didier Drogba is unable to go for the Ivory Coast because of his broken arm, what does that do to the Group of Death?

Does the removal of one player, even a player as great as Drogba, really eliminate this strong team from any consideration of moving on?

If so, what do we call the Group of Death, now? The Group of Great Sickness? The Group of Near Death?

Reminds me of the 1987 movie "The Princess Bride" and the Billy Crystal character who is trying to bring Cary Elwes' character Westley back to life. "He's only mostly dead," Crystal says. "Not totally dead. There's a big difference."

Reports are circulating, as you've no doubt heard, that Drogba is going to try and give it a go. This might be the greatest comeback from an injury since Kirk Gibson limped around the bases in the 1988 World Series.

If he does indeed play, that improves the Ivory Coast's chances considerably. But even without the big striker, this is a good team, and they can play.

One must figure, when looking at Group G, that the big three teams, Brazil, Portugal, and the Ivory Coast (with or without Drogba) will all beat North Korea. So now we're talking about head-to-head games.

Let's assume for a moment that Brazil beats both Portugal and the Ivory Coast; certainly a strong possibility.  What you are left with is a head-to-head match up between Portugal and the Ivory Coast for the right to advance.

So that begs the question, can the Ivory Coast beat Portugal, even without Didier Drogba?

I think they can. They have other lethal threats that can score other than Drogba.

His Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou knows how to put the ball past the keeper. Gervinho is also quite capable up front.

Ivory Coast is also strong in the back, with world class players like Manchester City's Kolo Toure and Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue.

This group can beat Portugal if they can control tempo and make strong runs.

Sven Eriksson is a capable skipper who will have his club ready.

Would the Ivory Coast have a better chance with Didier Drogba in the middle of the pitch next week? Absolutely. But do they have no chance at all without him? No.

Group G is still a group to be reckoned with, and Brazil and Portugal better not start looking too far ahead because of a single broken bone.

Group G, if no longer the Group of Death, is, in the words of Billy Crystal, the group of "mostly" death.

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and England defender Rio Ferdinand both suffered injuries today that will likely see the two captains both miss the 2010 FIFA World Cup set to kickoff in South Africa next week.

Drogba suffered a broken arm during Ivory Coast's pre-tournament friendly against Japan.  The Chelsea striker received the injury in the 19th minute of the match after colliding with Brazilian born defender, Tulio.  Ferdinand, the English captain, tore ligaments in his knee during a training session and is now thought certain to miss the entire tournament.

Drogba was immediately flown to Sweden where he underwent an emergency operation in the hopes of saving his World Cup chances.  Speaking to the press, Ivory Coast manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said of Drogba, "He may have an operation, but he is not out."

However, reports indicate that Drogba's injury, a broken bone close to the elbow, is serious enough to sideline him for the duration of the tournament.  While the absence of Rio Ferdinand puts a defensive dint in English hopes of claiming their first World Cup victory in over forty years, a Drogba-less World Cup is a much dimmer prospect.

Didier Drogba is without a doubt one of the most dangerous strikers in the game today.  His current Castrol Ranking designates him as the third best player in world football.  Whether you support Ivory Coast or not, watching players of Drogba's quality competing against one another is a big part of why we tune in to watch the World Cup in the first place.

What's more, Ivory Coast have been placed in the so-called "group of death" along with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea.  Without the powerful striker upfront, the Ivory Coast's attack would seem in danger of being rendered somewhat toothless. And without a strong, threatening Ivory Coast, the group of death could become a whole lot less deadly.

Drogba, along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, is one of the few players in the tournament who carry the hopes and dreams of an entire nation squarely on his shoulders.  While the Ivory Coast have a strong, experienced team, it is almost entirely because of Drogba's threat in front of goal that they are considered favorites among African nations competing in the first World Cup to be held on African soil.

By comparison, Ferdinand, a hard-hitting, experienced defender, is merely a member of the chorus on an English squad that bristles with talented star players from top to bottom.  While he may be the team captain, his absence is far from the fatal blow to English hopes that Drogba's is to those of the Ivory Coast.

With uncapped Tottenham Hotspur defender Michael Dawson being called in as his replacement and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard being appointed captain, England seem more than capable of closing ranks and engaging in that most English practice of carrying on regardless.

The Ivory Coast's hopes, on the other hand, would appear to hang in the balance.