da bet nacional：
da poker： Primary Pretenders: Ivory Coast
With Didier Drogba’s injury comes an added blow to the Ivory Coast’s hopes. I was surprised to hear how many people had tipped Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side to go far in the tournament considering their awful outing at the African Cup of Nations (recording a 0-0 draw with Burkina Faso and then being knocked out by a mediocre Algeria team).
Eriksson’s deployment of a 4-3-3 focuses on the Ivorians’ biggest strengths: in Drogba they have a world class centre forward who thrives playing as the focal point of attack, swift wingers to compliment him, and a dynamic, physically imposing and mobile trio in midfield. With Drogba out, the orientation of the team and its primary formation has been thrown. Dindane will most likely replace Drogba and his game is focused on mobility instead of the traditional attributes of the Chelsea striker. Dindane’s profligacy and inconsistency is a stumbling block; he is either blistering or sputtering. Yaya Toure will play furthest forward in the midfield which is a surprise considering his holding role for Barcelona but we are yet to see if Eriksson will change the look of his team following the injury to his captain, perhaps a move to 4-4-2 may be on the cards.
Dangerous Dark Horses: Portugal
Portugal are definite outsiders for this World Cup. Underwhelming in qualification and only managing an embarrassing draw against Cape Verde when really it should have been a morale booster addressing their primary deficiency: a surprising inability to score goals. But this is not a new worry for Portugal as they have possessed steady defenders, an abundance of skill and pace in midfield but never, in recent times, a clinical finisher. Qualification for the World Cup also elucidates that defence is not a real worry; nine clean sheets in twelve matches. But Leidson, despite his sound link up play up front, is not a clinical finisher nor does he present an aerial/holding threat.
Many think Quieroz needs to tweak his line up if they are to genuinely contend in this tournament. Deco’s place in the team may be threatened if he underperforms in the opener by Zenit’s Danny Alves, who is a far more direct option. And the only other question is whether Ronaldo will be deployed up front or on the wing but Quieroz has stubbornly stuck to Leidson leading the line and the Real Madrid man coming off the left wing. However the reason I think they’re likely to make a run at this World Cup is down to the importance of Ronaldo. He has not scored a competitive goal since Euro 2008 and his form for the national side in qualification has been poor. But he remains their captain, playmaker, and prime goal threat. He will have license to roam and, if he plays well, it will remedy Portugal’s biggest shortcoming.
Conclusion
Many will think that the two teams I’ve picked should be occupying the opposing category. And there will be more reason to believe it if the Africans beat Portugal on Tuesday. Ivory Coast have been unlucky in consecutive World Cups to draw two very good teams (Holland and Argentina, and now Brazil and Portugal) but their recent showings in knock out tournaments have illuminated a lack of ruthlessness and collective mediocrity that does not merit the hype attributed to their name. Portugal have similarly flattered to deceive but a crucial difference between the two is a sound defensive base. Their shortcoming has been goal scoring but this is something that can be broken with a couple of players finding form over three or four matches (by the same token, it can just as easily continue). Quieroz probably won’t surprise us with his selection so it leaves even more pressure on the shoulders of Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s an argument for two captains: I think the Portuguese captain finding form and scoring goals is more likely an outcome than the Ivory Coast maximising a system that is geared toward an injured captain who won’t feature.
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