Ivory Coast 2 -1 Japan: 5 Talking Points

Ivory Coast came back from a goal down to pip a disappointing Japanese team and put themselves in the driving seat for a second round spot. A Keisuke Honda stunner seemed to have given Japan the perfect start in the 16thminute, but two headers in two second-half minutes from Wilfried Bony and Gervinho turned things on its head. The Elephants then held on for a well-deserved win. Here are five talking points from the game:

#1 The stars that did not shine

They may have been heralded as stars of their respective teams, but some of them just failed to perform well last night. Their abilities deserted them at a crucial juncture. 

Yaya Toure’s team may have won, but he can’t boast of playing any significant role in getting the three points. He was lazy to run after the ball and never seemed anything like his Man City best. Starting as the playmaker in the 4-3-3 formation, Toure was supposed to be the focal point in the Ivorian attacks, but he failed to make an impact as his team tried repeatedly to force the equaliser. Although Toure did last the entire 90 minutes, his performance sparks questions as to whether he should have started at all after an injury scare prior to the game.

For Japan, Shinji Kagawa was the biggest disappointment. For all his attempts at dribbling, he couldn’t break open the Ivorian defence and was invisible for a large part of the match. The Manchester United man struggled to make his mark on the field and he should have been taken off earlier.

Keisuke Honda too wasn’t at his best. He did open the scoring with a great strike, but after that slowly faded into the shadows. In the second half, he continued on the downward curve and he gave away the ball that led to the equaliser. Once Ivory Coast made the turnaround, both Kagawa and Honda failed to surge forward effectively, thus denying Japan any chance of getting back into the game.