Cote d'Ivoire 2 - Japan 1

Photo by Clive Rose

Cote d'Ivoire, having finally avoided drawing two world powers in their FIFA World Cup finals group, were finally a popular pic to advance to a knockout stage. Their first opponents were Japan, a team that made the knockout stage in 2010 and won the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Les Elephants were the first team to make inroads at the other's goal in rainy Recife as Gervinho curled a ball around a defender to find Wilfried Bony. Atsuto Uchida provided the timely block, and the danger was averted by Japan. At the quarter hour mark, Japan kicked into gear. Off a throw-in deep in Ivoirian territory, the Japanese worked a three-pass combination for a goal. Keisuke Honda rolled around Yaya Toure and fired a superb shot at high speed into the Ivoirian net to give Japan a 1-0 lead. The Ivoirian defense looked porous for the next five minutes, and Uchida had a clear shot from an angle seven yards out, but his shot went straight into the body of Cote d'Ivoire goalkeeper Boubacar Barry. Cote d'Ivoire decided to start driving at high velocity up the center of the pitch, and soon enough they were regularly drawing free kicks in scoring range. Arthur Boka curled in a ball from such a position that just barely did not get down in time to get under the crossbar. From thirty yards out from a half-clearance, Boka unleashed a laser shot that took quite an effort Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima to keep out of the goal. On the other end, a timely block from Souleymane Bamba was all that prevented a dangerous Honda shot from reaching its target from nineteen yards out. By the end of the half, Japan had lost all momentum and Cote d'Ivoire were playing brightly. Boka again tested Kawashima with a shot that went through the legs of a Japanese defender with power, but Kawashima made the catch. Japan escaped the first half with a 1-0 lead.

Cote d'Ivoire continued on the front foot to start the second half. Serge Aurier found himself in the box after a good run-up by Gervinho, but his shot was partially blocked, and Boka's header attempt was woefully wide of target. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Les Elephants had yet to find the equalizer, so they turned to talismanic striker Didier Drogba off the bench. His first touches led to a run own the right flank and a pass to Gervinho that almost resulted in a tap-in for a third teammate, but Gervinho's ball was cut out by the Japanese defense. Finally, the defense of Samurai Blue broke. Aurier swung in a whipped cross and Bony was able to beat Masato Morishige to the header. Bony redirected it to the far side netting, and the onslaught seemed imminent. The very next minute, Aurier sent in a cross from the exact same position. This time, Gervinho sent in a header ahead of the mark of Japanese centerback Maya Yoshida. The Drogba effect turned the score from 0-1 to 2-1 in the space of six minutes on the pitch. With less than ten minutes to go, Drogba drew a foul in a dangerous position off a goal kick. Kawashima was made to dive to save Drogba's free kick attempt. Three minutes on, Drogba nearly scored on a four-versus-four situation off a pass from Gervinho, but Morishige's ankle provided enough of a block to send the shot just wide. Cote d'Ivoire did enough to see the game out, and they win 2-1 to set up a top-of-the-table clash with Colombia in their next game.

Colombia 3 pts +3
Cote d'Ivoire 3 pts +1
Japan 0 pts -1
Greece 0 pts -3

Goals
Cote d'Ivoire
Wilfried Bony 64
Gervinho 66

Japan
Keisuke Honda 16

Match Reports:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2014/m=6/news=elephant-charge-flattens-japan-2371013.html
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/1882517/ivory-coasts-inspired-comeback
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2014/06/15/world-cup-2014-group-stage-day-3/ (Daily Summary)

Highlights:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186507/index.html