Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal

Didier Drogba's rapid return from a broken arm failed to inspire Ivory Coast to victory against Portugal as the Group G rivals played out a 0-0 draw that leaves one likely to face early elimination.

In a keenly-fought contest in Port Elizabeth, the fear of losing appeared to weigh heavily on the two highly-rated teams. But Drogba’s second-half appearance was not enough to nudge Ivory Coast to a victory they would have deserved against Carlos Queiroz’s team.


Although Fifa had cleared Drogba to play with a lightweight cast to protect his broken right arm, Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson opted to start with the Chelsea forward on the bench against the Portuguese.

Drogba’s absence was a blow for the west Africans, who went into this game knowing that a defeat would as good as end their hopes of reaching the knock-out stage with World Cup favourites Brazil next up.



Portugal carried similar fears of defeat, however, and the importance of this fixture to both sides was evident in a spiky start to the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo proved to be at the heart of the major flashpoints in the early stages. The former Manchester United forward earned a booking for Didier Zokora on seven minutes by tumbling to the ground a touch too easily, but Ronaldo then showed his other side moments later when he hit the post with a searing 35-yard strike.

Ronaldo was subjected to some heavy challenges from his heavy-handed opponents, but Portugal were not shy of getting involved in the physicalities and Ricardo Carvalho certainly made his presence felt in a touchline tangle with Gervinho.

Ronaldo was then booked for confronting Guy Demel after the full-back’s late tackle upended the Real Madrid forward 25 yards from goal. It was a clear foul, but referee Jorge Larrionda failed to spot the incident and he went on to book both players for squaring up following the foul.

The bright start quickly melted away, however, and the two teams began to suggest they were more afraid of losing than they were keen to win.

Chances dried up and neither goalkeeper had a shot to save until Eduardo kept out Salomon Kalou’s tame 20-yard effort on 54 minutes.

The game needed an injection of something and the atmosphere lifted noticeably when Drogba replaced Kalou 12 minutes later.

But the game continued to be played in the middle third until Ronaldo had a header disallowed on 72 minutes following a shove by Bruno Alves on Demel.

That was as near as either team came to winning it in the closing stages, but with Brazil still to come for both, they will have to raise their game against the tournament favourites if they are to progress.