Ivory Coast convincingly beat North Korea 3-0 on Friday, but the comprehensive win was not enough to prevent the Africans from going out of the World Cup.
Portugal got their World Cup finals off to a stuttering start with a goalless draw against a spirited Ivory Coast on Tuesday, a match that saw the return of Didier Drogba only 11 days after breaking his arm. Semi-finalists at the 2006 finals, Portugal struggled to make a serious impact and made their job of advancing from a fierce Group G -- which includes Brazil and North Korea -- no easier in a fluid match that yielded only a handful of goalscoring chances.
Ivory Coast need to score a hatful of goals against North Korea to have any chance of reaching the World Cup second round although coach Sven-Goran Eriksson warned they could not attack with abandon.
Sabri Lamouchi's dismissal as Tunisia coach after a single game at the World Cup places him on an ignominious list that includes one of the most successful coaches in tournament history.
The teams that have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, to be hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
Live updates from Friday's matches at the football World Cup in South Africa.
Ivory Coast's Elephants face a challenge of jumbo proportions against Portugal in Group G on Tuesday in a game where the points may hinge on the fitness of their talismanic striker Didier Drogba.
Brazil and Portugal fought themselves into a stalemate on Friday but the 0-0 draw was enough for both teams to go through comfortably into the second round of the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally ended his dry spell for Portugal with a quasi-comical goal, but the real drivers behind Portugal's sumptuous 7-0 rout of North Korea on Monday were midfielders Raul Meireles and Tiago.
The 2010 football World Cup draw pits Brazil with Portugal, Ivory Coast and N Korea in the same group.
Ministers will travel to different countries across the world, mostly where no ministerial visits have taken place in the last 20 to 25 years, to establish 'sampark' (contact) and 'samvad' (communication).
The medal tally at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
FIFA will go ahead with its controversial decision to stage World Cup matches at midday in tropical venues, president Sepp Blatter said on Tuesday as soccer's governing body announced a bafflingly complex procedure for Friday's draw.
At least two of the eight first-round groups of four produced tough obstacles for their participants to progress to the knockout rounds.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
