Ivory Coast in need of hope as well as points

After a nightmare second round of matches, Ivory Coast find themselves on the verge of elimination after tomorrow’s game against North Korea.

A solid draw against Portugal in the first game now looks like two crucial points lost, as a loss to Brazil and Portugal beating the Koreans leaves the Elephants teetering on the brink.

Such was the manner of Portugal’s victory, a 7-0 romp, that not only do Sven Goran Eriksson’s team need to win and hope that Portugal lose to Brazil, they also require a nine goal swing in their favour.

Such a swing is not impossible, as the last two group games demonstrated, but it leaves hope in short supply for Ivorian fans.

Striker Gervinho is confident, however, that Brazil will do their bit and push for victory over Portugal. Having already qualified, the five-time former champions could be forgiven for resting key players, but Gervinho expects no let up from either side.

“I do not think they will take the foot off the pedal,” he said. “First, the Brazilian and Portuguese players will want to honour the opportunity to represent their respective countries and cannot afford not to give everything. Then they will also be hoping to play a less powerful opponent in the second round.”

If Portugal do lose, Ivory Coast will need to beat North Korea by a hefty margin, a task they will look to captain Didier Drogba to lead. But defender Sol Bamba has expressed concern at Drogba’s injury, a broken elbow sustained in a warm up game before the World Cup.

“We can tell he is not 100% fit,” said Bamba. “Didier is our captain and a massive influence and it was a disappointment with his injury.”

Drogba, the only Ivorian to score so far in South Africa, with his side’s consolation goal against Brazil, will lead the line against North Korea, partnering Dindane and Kalou as the Elephants must go for an impressive win.

Eriksson may bring Gervinho into the midfield, to add pace and attacking threat to the trio of Yaya Toure, Cheik Tiote and Emmanuel Eboue who have provided resilience but little adventure so far in the tournament.

The former England manager will not dismiss the dangers posed by North Korea, however, the much unfancied team having already made Brazil work hard for an opening 2-1 victory.

The Koreans’ coach, Kim Jong Hun, is adamant that his side will not be pushovers. “Though we will not be able to reach our objectives, we have one game left and we will reinforce our mental abilities and prepare well for that match.”

“In the final match against Ivory Coast we will have to think over our strategy and tactics that will give us the best result there,” he added, hinting at changes for the final group game.

Star striker Jong Tae-se will lead the line for North Korea, and his impressive display against Brazil suggests that the Ivorian back four of Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora, Guy Demel and Siaka Tiene will have their work cut out if a win is to be gained, let alone a wide margin of victory.

A much improved performance is needed from that which saw Ivory Coast fall at the hands of Brazil. But the impetus to turn around a nine-goal deficit between themselves and Portugal could be just what they need to provoke an attacking display.

Gervinho is confident that the Elephants have it in them to get the right result, and at the very least a performance to make their fans proud. “The most important thing is to win this game. We must hold our heads up high and get a win in this competition for the Ivorian people.”

Drogba, meanwhile, admits that they have made qualification difficult for themselves. “It’s going to be hard for us to qualify now because our fate’s no longer in our hands,” said the Chelsea striker. “Our team has made progress since the last World Cup, but we could have been a bit more ambitious and tried to go for the game a bit more.”

But it is the optimism of Gervinho and Guy Demel they will need if they are to turn things around. Demel has not given up hope, and his words sum up what Ivory Coast need to believe on Friday evening: “There’s one match to go and we owe it to ourselves to win it and hope events go in our favour. Nothing’s over yet.”