WORLD CUP 2010 GROUP G:IVORY COAST convincingly beat North Korea 3-0 yesterday, but the win, which could easily have been by a larger margin, was still not enough to prevent the Africans from going out of the competition.
Portugal and Brazil’s 0-0 draw 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, had already been eliminated.
Despite their exit, Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said he was pleased with his side’s performance in what had always looked like one of the tournament’s hardest groups.
“It’s a good team and I think the future belongs to this country . . . absolutely. The future for this country, football-wise, is great.”
The Ivorians had needed to score a glut of goals to give themselves any chance of overhauling Portugal after their earlier 7-0 win over North Korea.
Needing plenty of goals, Ivory Coast left Salomon 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 by Portugal.
Goals from Yaya Toure and Ndri Romaric gave the Ivorians a 2-0 halftime lead, but it could have been five or six as North Korea struggled to cope with the one-way traffic heading towards their net.
The west Africans picked up where the 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 organised in defence.
Jong Tae-se almost pulled one back for North Korea in the 81st minute but Ivory Coast scored a third goal when Kalou, on as a substitute, side footed home from close range in the 82nd minute.
NORTH KOREA: Myong-Guk Ri, Cha, Chol-Jin Pak, Jun-Il Ri, Ji, Kwang-Chon Ri, Hong, Ahn, Nam-Chol Pak, Mun (Choe 67), Jong. Subs not used: Myong-Gil Kim, Kum-il Kim, An, Nam-Chol Pak, Yong-Jun Kim, Nam, Chol-Myong Ri, Kwang-Hyok Ri, Kyong-Il Kim, Sung Hyok Pak, Myong-Won Kim.
IVORY COAST: Barry, Eboue, Toure, Zokora, Boka, Romaric (Doumbia 79), Toure Yaya, Tiote, Keita (Dindane 64), Drogba, Gervinho (Kalou 64). Subs not used: Zogbo, Angoua, Gohouri, Gosso, Kone, Tiene, Bamba, Yeboah. Goals: Toure Yaya 14, Romaric 20, Kalou 82.
Attendance: 34,634
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco(Spain).
