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Saturday June 14 - 7:00PM | ||
| vs | JAPAN | ||
| FIFA RANKING 21 | FIFA RANKING 47 | ||
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| HOW THEY QUALIFIED |
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| IVORY COAST Côte d’Ivoire breezed through their opening qualifying group with four wins from their six matches. They scored 15 goals to five conceded, and their only dropped points came from two draws against their biggest rivals Morocco. Their home-and-away play-off was much trickier however as a resurgent Senegal stood in their way. For the final quarter of an hour of the second leg, the Senegalese were one goal away from knocking out the Elephants on away goals at 3-2 aggregate, but Salomon Kalou's late goal settled the tie and sent the Ivorians into their third consecutive World Cup finals. JAPAN The mammoth, two-year qualifying campaign saw Japan progress game-by-game under Alberto Zaccheroni, who took over in the wake of the team’s impressive run at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. The new-look Japan were struggling to fit into the Italian’s strategy as they began their qualifying bid in lacklustre style, losing to Uzbekistan and Korea DPR before seeing their progression into the fourth round secured. Their transition proved successful, inspired by talisman Keisuke Honda and spearheaded by the likes of Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki, the Japanese began to gel in the fourth round. Two emphatic opening victories over Oman (3-0) and Jordan (6-0) saw the Samurai Blue as the group’s runaway leaders and although they were held by Australia to a 1-1 draw, Oman and Iraq’s losses put Zaccheroni’s side on the cusp of qualification. An unexpected 2-1 loss in Jordan may have briefly delayed their celebration party, but they battled back to draw Australia 1-1, providing Japan with the requisite point to seal their fifth successive FIFA World Cup appearance. |
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RECENT RESULTS |
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| IVORY COAST | JAPAN | ||
| 16/11/13 - SENEGAL 1-1 IVORY COAST 12/10/13 - IVORY COAST 3-1 SENEGAL 07/09/13 - IVORY COAST 1-1 MOROCCO |
11/06/13 - IRAQ 0-1 JAPAN 04/06/13 - JAPAN 1-1 AUSTRALIA 26/03/13 - JORDAN 2-1 JAPAN |
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| PLAYERS TO WATCH | |||
| IVORY COAST Côte d’Ivoire boast some of the greatest individual talents in Africa. Forwards Drogba and Salomon Kalou are a formidable front pair, while midfield duo Didier Zokora and Yaya Toure perform key ball-winning duties in the middle of the park. Explosive winger Gervinho supplies service from both flanks, with Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure providing a wealth of experience at the back. |
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| JAPAN Having excelled during the last FIFA World Cup and the recent AFC Asian Cup, CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda has quickly established his place as the team's new leader, filling the void left by Hidetoshi Nakata and Shunsuke Nakamura. Spearheading the attacking-line are Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki, who finished the continental finals as the team's top-scorer with three goals. Driving the central field alongside Honda is set-piece specialist Yasuhito Endo while Schalke 04 defender Atsuto Uchida is the key man at the rearguard. |
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