Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal earns a draw against Drogba's Ivory Coast
In a game that was supposed to be crucial to determining which teams will advance out of Group G, ultimately, nothing was decided. Despite chances from both sides, neither the Ivory Coast nor Portugal managed to score a goal against the other, leaving the game a 1-1 draw and giving each team a single point.
The game was particularly important given the makeup of Group G. Common wisdom says that no. 1 ranked Brazil will almost certainly be one of the two teams out of four to advance to the next round. Similarly, almost nobody is giving North Korea a chance to advance, leaving Portugal and Ivory Coast to fight over the last spot. A win for either team could have been crucial for their chances of advancing.
Tightly-played match
The Ivory Coast pressed the action early, making several charges down the field, but it was Portugal who had the first chance to score. Superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo fired a shot from 40 yards out that eluded goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, but it went off the crossbar to keep the match scoreless. Minutes later Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote fired a shot that missed the top of the net by inches.
Didier Drogba nearly won it for the Ivory Coast in the dying seconds of the second half, as he was briefly open in the box before being swarmed by Portuguese players, and Drogba put it just wide. Aside from these chances, the game was relatively quiet, with only 12 shots on goal by both teams combined and relatively few quality scoring chances.
Drogba’s return fails to beat Portugal
In many ways, Drogba’s return was the story of the match. Drogba, considered one of the best strikers in the world, fractured his elbow June 4 in a game against Japan, sending a severe blow to the Ivory Coast’s chances of advancing out of Group G, the Group of Death. While the Ivory Coast captain did not start, he came off the bench in the 66th minute to a thunderous ovation from the African fans in attendance.
Ultimately though, he wasn’t able to effectively rally his team. Aside from his chance in the last minute, it was Portugal who controlled the play for most of the second half of the game. At the final whistle, they had outshot the Ivory Coast seven to five, but most importantly the score was even.
Group Future
Both teams must now rely on a win against North Korea, the lowest ranked team in the World Cup. Both sides will be heavily favoured going into that match, but in order to advance they may need to play more aggressively against the Asian team and score as many goals as possible to win a possible tie-breaker. If Brazil manages to win both of its games against Portugal and the Ivory Coast, an entirely possible result, then the fate of both teams may rely on how many goals they are able to score against the weaker North Korean squad. For either team, a tie or a narrow victory against North Korea could be potentially fatal.
Portugal, the no.3 ranked team is still favoured to advance over the no. 27 ranked Ivory Coast, but it will not be easy, particularly now that Drogba’s return will provide much-needed offense to the powerful African squad. The Ivory Coast’s next game against Brazil will be crucial. If they lose, it would give Portugal a chance to advance with a draw with Brazil, but a draw would put pressure on the Portuguese to attempt to replicate the very difficult feat of playing to a draw against the best team in the world.
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