Ivory Coast romped to a 3-0 victory over North Korea on Friday, but the one-sided win was not enough to prevent them becoming the fifth African side to exit the World Cup in the first round.
Portugal’s 0-0 draw with Brazil in the other final Group G match ensured they both qualified for the last 16, rendering the Ivorian result meaningless. North Korea, who lost all three of their games conceding 12 goals, had already been eliminated.
Goals from Yaya Toure, Ndri Romaric and Salomon Kalou gave the Ivorians the 3-0 win, but it could easily have been double figures as North Korea struggled to cope with the one-way traffic heading toward their net.
PHOTO: EPA
Ivorian striker Didier Drogba said a lack of composure cost his side dear.
“If we were a little bit more calm, maybe we could have scored more goals,” said Drogba, who jumped an advertising board after the game and threw one boot into the stand before giving the other to an elated fan. “Our World Cup is over today, but we can be proud of what we did against Portugal, and what we did against Brazil and today. We are disappointed, but we can’t be too disappointed when you are in a group like this with Portugal and Brazil.”
Ghana are the only African side to qualify for the second round in South Africa.
Needing a glut of goals to stand any chance of advancing, Ivory Coast left Kalou on the bench and opted for a three-pronged attack of Drogba, Gervais Kouassi and Abdelkader Keita.
North Korea coach Kim Jong-hun kept faith with the same starting 11 that were ruthlessly dismantled 7-0 by Portugal in their previous game.
Ri Myong-guk was forced into action right from the kickoff, making a smart save from Keita, but there would be no respite for the North Korean goalkeeper as Ivory Coast flooded forward at every opportunity.
Drogba looked in the mood from the outset with his menacing runs and sublime control, and he had a goal disallowed for offside in the 11th minute.
The Ivorians would not have long to wait though and in the 14th minute Toure took a pass on the edge of the area before curling the ball into the far corner of the net.
Romaric struck the outside of the post four minutes later, but was on hand to nod home after Drogba crashed a vicious shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 20th minute.
North Korea’s first and only chance of the first half came in the 25th minute when captain Hong Yong-jo stroked a freekick just wide of Boubacar Barry’s goal.
The west Africans picked up where they left off in the second half, Drogba sending a diving header wide and Kouassi failing to connect with Keita’s dangerous delivery, but North Korea looked far more organized in defense.
Jong Tae-se almost pulled one back for North Korea in the 81st minute, but he could not force the ball over the line.
Instead, Ivory Coast notched up a third when Kalou, on as a substitute, side footed home from close range in the 82nd minute after a great cross from Arthur Boka.
Kim said North Korea, returning to the World Cup for the first time in 44 years, would have to become bigger and stronger for future tournaments.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was