I thought the Ivory Coast had the better chances throughout the match, but this match-up was about two teams that played not to lose rather than to win. I do not really get this since now each team's progression really depends on goal differentials in the 2 remaining matches vs Brazil and North Korea. I was really perplexed by Ivory Coast in the last 30 seconds. Everyone knew as Ivory Coast lined up for a late corner kick that more or less it would be the last kick of the match. However, Ivory Coast went with a short corner and the final whistle blew. Really, not even trying to score. I mean why not take a chance on someone rising up for a headed goal and get a late victory when you know that even if Portugal were to win the ball there was not enough time to get down and score a goal.
Other than Ronaldo's blast from 30-35 yards in the 1st half off the post, I do not recall Portugal looking particularly dangerous. Of course, the Portuguese manager, Carlos Queiroz, has found something else to publicly lament other than his squad's abject performance. Queiroz is questioning FIFA's decision to allow Didier Drogba to play with a plaster cast even though all parties involved cleared Drogba's cast on Monday. I guess now Queiroz should be speaking for the Portuguese FA.
I do not know why I am surprised by this because Queiroz has learned under Sir Alex Ferguson. Queiroz worked as Sir Alex's #2 for many years before getting a job of his own. Do not get me wrong, I think Sir Alex is the greatest manager of our generation, but anytime Manchester United put up a bad performance it is more often than not due to the referee rather than his squad (i.e., see earlier this year when Sir Alex questioned the fitness of Alan Wiley even though stats show that Wiley covered more ground that day than any player).
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