FIFA has cleared Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba to play with a protective cast on his broken right arm. Sven-Goran Eriksson hasn't cleared him to start, though.
Drobga will begin the Ivory Coast's match against Portugal on the bench. He broke his arm in a friendly against Japan 11 days ago, but returned to training determined to compete in this World Cup.
It's unclear exactly what role the Chelsea striker will play in Tuesday's match.
Do you think the Ivory Coast can defeat Portugal or get out of the Group of Death without Drogba? Share your thoughts below.
Every European team in the tournament so far has underachieved, except for Germany. I expect Portugal to underachieve as well.
Agreed. I understand Drogba is a top-5 in the world kind of player, but it’s a tad annoying listening to people say the ivory coast has NO chance without him. both Toure’s, Kalou, Zokora, Dindane, etc. are all good players playing in top leagues.
The chances of Ivory Coast advancing far in the tournament is much less because of the injury, but I’ve been anything but impressed with Portugal recently, and to say Ronaldo is the reason they will advance seems odd seeings as he hasn’t scored for the national team in 11 months.
That last bit may have been a bit confusing, but just having 1 star doesn’t make a team, Drogba is an integral part to that team, but there is far more talent there than people seem to want to think.
He is a great player, but not the only great player on that team. They have guys at Arsenal, Barcelona, Sevilla, Chelsea, Man City, etc. that are world class. The real question is how they perform under Sven.
cote d’ivoire will live or die by drogba’s efforts.