Five days into the World Cup and this has the makings of the tournament’s first epic clash. With Brazil up next for the Elephants, this is a match that maybe has to be won but which certainly cannot be lost. It will be the first indication of whether the Ivory Coast FA was right to have fired manager, Vahid Haliodzic, and replaced him with Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Swede is confident that Didier Drogba, who has been training with his arm in a sling, will have recovered from his broken arm in time to play. Given the importance of this fixture, he may have to.

For Portugal, no less than Ivory Coast, this is a critical match and one that will place a huge burden of responsibility on Cristiano Ronaldo. He may be one of the two best players in the world, Portugal may be ranked number three in the world but it is a while since either of these statistics looked meaningful. The loss of Nani to a shoulder injury and the fitness concerns around the Real Madrid centre-half Pepe who has barely kicked a ball in anger since December see Portugal go into this game in a jittery mood..

Portugal’s recent 3-0 win over Mozambique may have been encouraging but it will be no sort of preparation for an encounter with perhaps Africa’s best side. The Manchester City captain, Kolo Toure, has said this is a game that will be decided by details, the chief one of which is whether Ronaldo can lead from the front and how fit Drogba is. They may cancel each other out: Verdict: Draw.