Ivory Coast v Portugal
Football : FIFA World Cup : Group Phase
Venue : Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Tuesday, 15th June 2010 - Kickoff 16:00 GMT,

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This is arguably the best opening round match of the tournament on paper.

The other fixture in the Group looms as a walkover in Brazil’s favour so this one will be vital for one of these teams to get a strong foothold in an extremely tough group.

Both teams have injury concerns or issues heading into the first match, but they also carry decent from with Portugal easily winning their last two practice matches and Ivory Coast winning 2-0 over Japan in that fateful match.

Expect to see both teams start this one tentatively before the skills and free-flowing nature of both teams comes to the fore. Could be the game of the tournament, and at such an early stage it is a must watch.

Portugal

The Portuguese side have scored 3 times in each of their last two friendlies while conceding one against Cameroon when they beat them 3-1 in Portugal on June 1. This match will test the Portugal defence a little more with the Ivory Coast having quite a few useful attacking options.

I feel that the Portugal defence is up to scratch at this standard with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Pepe all important figures at their respective club teams. Miguel is another who at right back has impressed in the past playing for his country. He gets forward up the line to involve himself in attack and alongside Cristiano Ronaldo up the right touchline could form an imposing combination.

Pepe who had surgery for his torn ACL last December has now declared himself fit saying “The competition begins this week and I am ready to play.” Having torn an ACL myself i wonder if 6 months is long enough and whether he is match fit or not after playing against Mozambique on Tuesday. Coach Carlos Queiroz will have to make this decision in the coming days as this fixture is important, but it would be horrific to see a recurrence of the injury.

For me the midfield is Portugal’s strong point, but more so in an attacking regard. The names Queiroz has to choose from include Tiago, Deco, Raul Meireles, Miguel Veloso, Pedro Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Aside from Mendes who is the most defensive minded of these players, they can score at will and Deco in particular is world class with his passing and set piece play. I liken him a great deal to Kaka. They both love their football, are passionate, but tend to have the fairest attitudes on the pitch. Deco, like Kaka, will need to take charge of this team of it is to progress deep into the tournament and the first challenge will be posed by the Ivory Coast side.

Nani has been ruled out of the World Cup because of injury. He will be missed by Portugal after his late season form for Man United, but I think the squad has enough depth to make a run without him.

Up front the Portuguese may go with Ronaldo but i feel he is more valuable along the right touchline. With his ability to beat defenders he will threaten often with shots and crosses if he stays out wide. He hasn’t scored for his country for well over a year, so I think they need to forget about his scoring and worry about his general play.

That leaves Simao Sebrosa, Hugo Almeida, Liedson and Danny for the coach to choose from. Depending on the formation I would like to see Almeida and Sebrosa as the two forwards. Almeida has scored in one of the lead up games and Sebrosa is now a seasoned campaigner at this level. With the likes of Ronaldo and Deco delivering inch perfect balls these two should see some action.

Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast defence is led by Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue who were team-mates at Arsenal for some time before Toure transferred to Man City. Both these men have now played for a fair period of time in the best league in the world, against some of the best strikers in the world.

So while we could say most African teams are not too solid in defence, this is one centre back duo who would beg to differ. Portugal will not find these guys easy to score against, but having said that Eboue and Toure will need to be at their best all tournament to ensure their side aren’t involved in any 6 goal thrillers, because they certainly have the attack to score goals.

The Cote D’Ivoire midfield does not have the class of Portugal’s; however it will be mightily competitive and does have a bit to offer going forward. Didier Zokora and Yaya Toure are likely starters and they will provide the steel in the centre of the park. They are fierce tacklers and will not be taking any prisoners.

The key man in my opinion for the Ivory Coast midfield is Abdelkader Keita. He found his name on the score sheet a fair bit for his club side Galatasaray this season and with a good showing at the World Cup, I don’t think it will be too long before some serious offers start coming in for his services.

The most talked about position for the Ivory Coast team is the forward line. Didier Drogba broke a bone near his elbow in a friendly against Japan on June 4. He immediately had surgery and early speculation suggested Drogba would miss the entire World Cup. Apparently his recovery is on track and he is making solid progress.

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson had this to say about the situation on June 10. "If the game had been today or tomorrow he [Drogba] wouldn’t have been able to play, but there are still a few days ... He might play against Portugal." We all know the importance of Drogba in the chances of the Ivory Coast, so there is no doubt he will be given every opportunity to play. I am leaning toward the idea of him missing at least the first match.

Cote D’Ivoire’s other forward stocks are not too shabby though. Led by Salomon Kalou and Aruna Dindane both men are experienced at respected leagues in Europe and have both scored double figures for their national team. With or without Drogba the attackers can pose a threat to the Portuguese defence but ideally Drogba would be there to provide his presence and freakish ability.

THe Betting Verdict

I think we could be treated to a fine display from Ronaldo in this one. If so I think it is fair to expect a Portugal win.

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Portugal to win this at 2.20 or better