20100620
allafrica

Johannesburg — Didier Drogba will be back to lead Cote d’Ivoire’s attack against the fearsome Brazilians on Sunday but without any changes to the attacking system the Ivorians have shown at the World Cup.

The captain, whose broken forearm left his World Cup in doubt but who was used as a substitute in the opening match with Portugal, will replace Gervais Kouassi in the starting line-up.

This is despite a strong performance from "Gervinho" in the goalless draw with Portugal which marked the start of the finals for the Ivorians earlier this week.

Drogba’s return for Sunday’s match boosts Ivorian morale, already buoyed after the Portugal result and seemingly drawing many positives from the influence of new coach Sven Goran Eriksson.

The Swede has sought to make the team’s approach more attacking with a 4-4-3 formation, which he will not tinker with, even against a Brazil side whose game is all about the counter attack.

Brazil might be pre-tournament favourites and the world’s number one ranked side, but their opening game against North Korea brought more criticism than confidence.

A 2-1 triumph came only after Brazil had eventually found the net in the second half. They did have the lion’s share of the game but failed to leave any real sense of conviction.

Granted, it was the first game of the tournament but the Ivorians will have drawn heart from the nuggety way in which North Korea stymied much of the Brazilian attack.

The Ivorians will believe they are at least in with a chance for a draw, in which case they will be left with the tantalising possibility of beating North Korea in their last group game to go through to the second round.

At their debut World Cup appearance in Germany four years ago, the Ivorians were lauded for their dynamic style of play but lost their first two games to the Netherlands and Argentina and were eliminated before bouncing back with a 3-2 triumph over Serbia and Montenegro in their last encounter.