2010 World Cup Ivory Coast v Portugal full time report
Ivory Coast 0 Portugal 0
Portugal were held to a goalless draw in Port Elizabeth by a well-organised and defensively sound Ivory Coast in the opening match of Group G.
Billed as one of the most attractive fixtures from the group stages, it didn’t exactly live up to expectations as a spectacle. Nonetheless, the result was still one which both the Ivorians and Portuguese will be reasonably satisfied with.
The game’s standout moment came just 10 minutes after kick-off, when a glorious hit from fully 30-yards by the player everyone had arrived to see, Cristiano Ronaldo, cannoned off Boubacar Barry’s post.
It was a stark warning sign from the former World Player of the Year. Without a goal for his national team for 15 months, smashing the frame of the goal clearly frustrated the world’s most expensive player.
From that moment on, though, Ivory Coast dominated the match, controlling the tempo of the game with consummate ease. Although they struggled to create too many clear cut opportunities with talismanic captain, Didier Drogba - left on the bench because of a broken arm - Sven Goran Eriksson’s men enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and managed to stifle their European opponents at nearly every opportunity.
Before half-time, Ronaldo was booked for a tussle with Guy Demel, which may explain why he became an increasingly peripheral figure as the match went on.
After the break, the Ivorians continued to apply pressure, with Gervinho looking particularly dangerous in the final third.
By this point the game had become somewhat more stretched. And with 25 minutes left on the clock, the moment every Ivory Coast supporter had been waiting for finally arrived. Drogba, iconic in Africa, was brought on to rapturous applause in a bid by Eriksson to snatch all three points.
The Chelsea striker’s presence ensured Portugal’s backline would sit back even further, allowing the likes of Aruna Dindane and Cheick Tiote to force the issue. And when Drogba went through on goal – albeit from a tight angle – the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium held its breath in anticipation. However, instead of shooting, the Ivory Coast forward squared the ball, but none of his teammates had gambled.
Barring one or two half chances for both sides towards the end of the match, the tie inevitably finished goalless.
Carlos Queiroz will be the more relieved of the two managers after escaping with a point, while Eriksson and Ivory Coast will now firmly believe they have what it takes to escape the group of death.
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