Despite scoring against Brazil on
Sunday, it appears that Didier Drogba is not fully fit after his
fractured arm, although that shouldn’t stop the Cote d’Ivoire
from comfortably winning this match the Mbombela Stadium in
Nelspruit.
An opening game against Portugal looked
as though it would give the Elephants a chance of qualifying,
irrespective of what happened against Brazil, although the Iberians’
7-0 rout of the People’s Republic means that any hopes of making it
to the last sixteen have been dashed.
Drogba is likely to continue in attack
and might possibly be joined by Gervinho as the African side look to
try and win the match comprehensively. It’s possible that team
morale is at a low ebb in the North Korean camp after the team took
such a pounding at the hands of Portugal, although three of the goals
came in the last ten minutes and we should remember they performed
well against Brazil.
Even so, a comfortable win for the
Elephants is on the cards.
PREDICTION:
IVORY COAST HT FT @ 2.0 with bwin
Power Rating
Squad (2/5)
Perhaps their greatest quality is that so little is known about them, although scouts from the other teams in Group G will be closely observing their warm-up games.
Squad (3/5)
Strong, balanced and impressive. No team, not even Brazil, will be entirely comfortable facing them.
Coach (3/5)
Whether or not he takes advice from the “Dear Leader” of North Korea, Kim Jong-hun’s ability as a tactician has been more than proved in qualification.
Coach (3/5)
Eriksson is a man who divides people utterly but he has got a talented squad in tournament conditions and he is being paid a lot of money. What more could he ask for?
Attack (1/5)
Frankly, there should be nothing in their forward line that should trouble an international defence.
Attack (3/5)
Didier Drogba once more missed out on the Champions League winners’ medal he craves. Success in the World Cup is all the motivation he needs.
Defence (3/5)
Sometimes, Kim has been known to use six defenders in his line-up, a tactic that worked perfectly when securing a goalless draw in Saudi Arabia to qualify.
Defence (3/5)
The Toure brothers and Eboue provide the kind of steel that not many teams –let alone African teams - can call upon.