Another handful of star players but another damp squib of a World Cup game as Portugal and the Ivory Coast could not be separated in Port Elizabeth.
Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't registered a goal for his country in 16 months but insists that his goal scoring is like ketchup, once it starts it will come thick and fast. The first slap of the bottle came after just six minutes and very nearly set the tournament ablaze, a trademark 30 yard dipping shot which rattled the outside of Boubacar Barry's right hand post.
Didier Drogba was cleared to wear a protective cast on his arm, after fracturing a bone during a warm up match early this month. However, Sven Goran Eriksson erred on the side of caution and deemed his talismanic captain fit enough only for the bench.
His 30 minute cameo very nearly produced the decisive moment of the game in injury time. Slid in by Abdelkader Keita's pass, Drogba found himself on the left side of the six yard box. But with only Eduardo to beat, the Jabulani skewed off the boot of the Premier League's top marksman and away to safety.
Les Elephantes lay down their marker in the opening stages, robust challenges stopping European attacks by fair means or foul.
Didier Zokora had already been booked for a mistimed tackle on Ronaldo when, an almost identical obstruction on the number seven (this time by Guy Demel) was ruled fair by referee Jorge Larrionda. Who added insult to Ronaldo's sense of injustice by inviting him to get up off the ground.
That hand signal inspired Demel and his teammates to surround the opposing captain and berate him for his 'dive.' The Madrid man responded verbally to the physical taunts and both parties were cautioned.
The Portuguese of course are well capable of fighting back, few more so than Ricardo Carvalho. When the Chelsea stalwart seen officials giving license to some less than fair challenges, he swung a trailing leg at each opponent he tackled cleanly in the games second quarter.
Indeed, the 'follow-through' tackle is becoming as much a feature of this tournament as the Vuvuzela. Another exponent, Pedro Mendes, left close to all six studs on the shin of Emmanuel Eboue without censure.
The west African side started stronger in the second half, as they did in the first. Carlos Queiroz was forced to use his bench, sending on Tiago and Simao for the anonymous Danny and Deco, who showed a hint of problems in the Portuguese camp, storming straight down the tunnel after 62 minutes.
The changes gave the Iberians a temporary energy boost, but the pacey triumvirate of Simao, Liedson and Ronaldo never clicked and Portugal were restricted to speculative efforts.
Cote D'Ivoire looked more intent on creating crossing opportunities, and finished the game as the team most likely to score. Tiene headed across goal after latching onto Eboue's cross and after Drogba's chance went begging, Keita could only side foot his chance into Carvalho's midriff.
Ivory Coast: (4-3-3) Barry, Demel, K Toure, Zokora, Tiene, Eboue (Romaric '88), Y Toure, Tiote, Dindane, Gervinho (Keita '81), Kalou (Drogba '65)
Portugal: (4-3-3) Eduardo, Ferreira, Bruno Alves, Carvalho, Coentrao, Meireles (Amorin '85), Mendes , Deco (Tiago '62), Ronaldo, Liedson, Danny (Simao '55).
Referee: J Larrionda (URU)
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