One of the glamour ties of the group stage is scoreless at the interval...

Portugal and the Didier Drogba-less Cote d'Ivoire played out a dull first half as their World Cup Group G encounter remained scoreless at half time in Port Elizabeth.
A continent held its breath and then received the unfortunate but admittedly inevitable news that Cote d'Ivoire's captain and talisman Drogba would only be fit enough to sit on the bench. But despite the setback, the Ivorians began confidently and looked composed on the ball.
 
Much attention was fixed on the world's most expensive player Cristiano Ronaldo after a disappointing Euro 2008. He showed both sides to his character in the first half, earning Didier Zokora a yellow card with a dive, then he struck a magnificent right foot thunderbolt which cannoned against the post much to the relief of the helpless Boubacar Barry in goal. Ironically, Ronaldo was later booked when Guy Demel did appear to fell the former Manchester United attacker.
Thereafter the match threatened to descend into a rather ill-tempered affair with a number of rash challenges on both sides. Clear cut chances were few and far between as both sides lacked fluency. Ronaldo aside, all Portugal could muster were a couple of through balls which managed to elude Danny and Liedson respectively.
 
The west Africans had a half-chance when Twente's Cheik Tiote broke through midfield however he failed to test Eduardo in the Portuguese goal. There was another sign of enouragement when Gervinho fortuitously squeezed between Pedro Mendes and Ricardo Carvalho however Paolo Ferreira came across to avert the danger.

With Brazil awaiting both these sides, they will need to show more urgency in the second period if they are to gain the upper hand in terms of qualification for the last 16.