Sports
Ivory Coast Neutralises Ronald’s Portugal
Ivory Coast drew 0-0 with Portugal in the teams’ opening match of the World Cup on Tuesday, largely outplaying its higher-ranked opponent despite Didier Drogba only coming on as a late substitute.
Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post early, but Ivory Coast otherwise created the better openings in the Group G match.
“It was a tight game not many occasions to score,” Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. “I thought if any team was going to win, it was we. We created some more chances than they did. I am very, very happy with the performance.
“If you think about discipline and organization, I think we were organized for all 90 minutes,” Eriksson added. “They have a very good team and a lot of very good footballers, but I think we handled it very well.”
Drogba came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou after FIFA cleared him to play with a cast on the arm he broke in a warm up match against Japan on June 4.
He was only passed fit shortly before kickoff at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and his entrance was greeted by huge cheers, with vuvuzelas drowning out drumming by Ivorian fans for the first time in the match.
But Drogba had little impact on a defense that struggled to contain Lille striker Gervinho and Aruna Dindane, Ivory Coast’s leading scorer when it was knocked out of the first round at the 2006 World Cup.
Still, Eriksson watched his striker move freely, largely untroubled by an injury that had threatened to prevent him from taking any part in the monthlong World Cup.
“I spoke to him after training yesterday evening and he said he preferred to be on the bench,” Eriksson said. “He said ‘Boss, if you need me, I am there.’ I hoped we would not need him but we wanted to win the game so we did what we did.
“We did not put any pressure on him.”
Ivory Coast picked up another injury problem late on when Kolo Toure went down clutching his leg and signaled to the bench for help.
The central defender had treatment behind the goal line for a couple of minutes and hobbled back into action but needed repeated treatment to his left knee with just minutes left.
Gervinho tormented right back Paulo Ferreira until his 82nd-minute replacement by Abdul Keita.
Ronaldo’s best chance came in the 11th minute with a swerving 30-meter (yard) shot that evaded goalkeeper Boubacar Barry but bounced off the left post.
Drogba, sitting among the substitutes, reacted to the near miss by blowing out his cheeks and drawing the sign of the cross across his shoulders.
Ronaldo had already shown the less attractive side of his game three minutes earlier when he won a free kick, pushing the ball past Didier Zokora and tumbling theatrically to the ground even though replays appeared to show there was no contact.
Zokora received the first of the three yellow cards and, although Ronaldo blasted the 35-meter (yard) kick into the wall, the chance relieved the pressure Ivory Coast’s three-man attack had been putting on Portugal’s defense.
Guy-Roland Demel then brought down Ronaldo with a sliding foul in the 21st and referee Jorge Larrionda booked both for squaring up to each other. Demel turned away without complaint but Ronaldo argued with the official, asking what he had done wrong.
Ronaldo also tapped in from close range in the 72nd minute but the referee had already blown his whistle for offside.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) says it will no longer pay athletes training grants in foreign currency.
The development came after sprinter, Kayinsola Ajayi, alleged foul play regarding the disbursement of training grants by the Commission.
Head of NSC’s Elite Athletes Development and Podium Board, Yusuf Alli, told Tidesports source on Friday that it was wrong of Ajayi to rubbish the good intention of the NSC, saying: “I have been in athletics for over 40 years now, and this current NSC Board, led by Mallam Shehu Dikko and Bukola Olopade, has done what others could not do. So far, the NSC has spent over N200 million in payment of training grants for athletes ahead the 2026 Commonwealth Games and preparation for Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.”
The NSC sourced the money from the private sector. It has never happened before. “I expected the athletes to encourage the NSC so that it can do more instead of raising unnecessary alarm and making allegations that is capable of discouraging them (NSC) and even the sponsors. It takes good initiative and trust for sports administrators in Nigeria to convince sponsors to donate money for welfare of athletes,” he said.
Speaking further, Alli, whose long jump record of 8.27m set in 1989 (35 years ago) is still unbroken, said: “We have decided that henceforth, all payment of training grants will be in Naira. No more payment of grants in U.S. dollars. We are Nigerians, and everyone knows that the exchange rate is not stable. As at the time Ajayi got his money, the rate of dollars to Naira may have changed
“I expected him to make a call either to myself or anybody in the Elite Board, or even the NSC to find out what happened instead of resorting to such allegation.
“If we make payment in Naira, any athlete who wants to convert his or her money to any foreign currency can tell their people back home to do so. I am sure this will solve the problem. If anybody wants to know how much he is entitled to, he must first of all find out the category that he or she belongs to.”
Alli disclosed that coaches, who train the athletes would soon get their grant. “They train the athletes, and the NSC feel is it not proper to leave them out in payment of grants. We have compiled their names, and very soon, the coaches would get their money,” Alli stated.
The chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Gbenga Elegbeleye, has directed that a minute’s silence be observed before kick-off at all Matchday 30 fixtures this weekend in honour of former Green Eagles captain Henry Nwosu, following the death of the former midfielder at the age of 62.
In a statement made available to Tidesports source on Saturday, the league body confirmed that the tribute would be held across all matches to recognise the contribution of the former international to Nigerian football.
Elegbeleye described Nwosu’s passing as both a personal loss and a painful moment for the country’s club football community.
Nwosu, who was the youngest member of Nigeria’s squad that won the 1980 African Cup of Nations, died in the early hours of Saturday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja after a brief illness.
The former midfielder had reportedly spent several days in hospital receiving intensive care before his death.
Elegbeleye said the late footballer was more than a colleague within the sport, describing him as someone with whom he had maintained a long-standing personal relationship dating back to his time at the National Sports Commission.
He said the former national team star had remained supportive of him in various moments of his career, including when he was nominated for the Pitch Football Awards.
Reflecting on Nwosu’s legacy, the NPFL chairman said the news represented the loss of a major figure in Nigerian football, noting that the former midfielder distinguished himself not only at club level but also later contributed to the development of the domestic game as a coach.
Elegbeleye said the death of the former international was “the death of a true ambassador of the domestic and national team football because he not only made his mark as a player in league clubs, but he also coached some of the league clubs.”
He added that death remained a submission to the will of God and prayed for the repose of Nwosu’s soul while urging strength for his family as they mourn the loss of their loved one.
Earlier confirmation of the former midfielder’s death came from former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami, who revealed that Nwosu died after spending five days in hospital. Odegbami said the former player passed away at about four o’clock in the morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment in intensive care.
“It is with deep pain in my heart that I have to be the conveyor of the news of the death of Henry Nwosu MON,” Odegbami said.
“After five days in hospital battling for his life, the one I call ‘Youngest Millionaire’ passed on at four o’clock this morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, where he had been in intensive care since Wednesday. May he rest peacefully with our Creator in heaven”.
At the club level, the former international spent most of his career in Nigeria, starring for New Nigeria Bank FC of Benin City and African Continental Bank FC of Lagos during a period when both sides were among the dominant forces in domestic football. His performances later earned him moves abroad, where he also played for ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast and Racing FC Bafoussam of Cameroon.
