Ivory Coast wasted a two-goal lead on Sunday to draw 2-2 with Paraguay in a friendly that marked coach Sven-Goran Eriksson’s first game in charge.
The Elephants controlled the game before Didier Drogba netted with a 54th-minute free kick that was deflected by the Paraguay wall and deceived goalkeeper Justo Villar.
“I was very happy with the first hour,” said Eriksson, who was appointed in March to lead Ivory Coast in South Africa. “I want to see a team which plays with each other and works as a unit. For one hour we did that. That’s very, very important.”
PHOTO: EPA
Drogba said the Swedish coach was having an effect after just one week working with the whole squad in the Swiss mountains.
“I think everybody understands the message the coach is trying to deliver,” Drogba said. “We’re still working and we still have some things to change.”
Substitute Soulemayne Bamba made it 2-0 in the 74th, arriving late at the far post to volley home a deep cross.
Paraguay substitute Lucas Barrios scored a minute later with a powerful low shot and Aureliano Torres then saw his free kick deflected into the Ivorians’ net in the 89th.
“We lost organization, we tried to run and finish individually,” Eriksson said. “We have to play better, but we will play better.”
Eriksson and Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino have until today to reduce their rosters from 30 to the final 23 going to South Africa.
“We have a lot of good footballers and it’s up to me to get them to work together,” said Eriksson, who took England to the quarterfinals at the past two World Cups.
Ivory Coast has been together less than half the time Paraguay’s been in camp, and it showed in the sloppy play early on.
French referee Wilfried Bien allowed several tough challenges before showing Paraguay’s Jorge Achucarro a yellow card for a slicing tackle on Yaya Toure.
Ivory Coast stepped up the pace, and Aruna Dindane placed a left-foot shot wide at the end of a surging run, after Drogba cleverly cleared space for him to exploit.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
‘HELLA ENERGY’: Minnesota’s 42-point victory set a club record for points in a playoff game, but the team have to keep up their momentum to stay in the series, Edwards said Anthony Edwards on Saturday night scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 to tighten their NBA playoff series. Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists. while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the hosts Timberwolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. However, moments after the 42-point win, Minnesota were determined to forget all about it. Such is life in the NBA playoffs. “You’ve got to erase this one,” Edwards said. “This one is over. I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS