FIFA World Cup Colombia v/s Ivory Coast: After lacklustre first half, 3 goals fly in the second; Final Score Colombia 2-1 Ivory Coast

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FINAL SCORE: Colombia 2-1 Ivory Coast. 

A terrible defensive lapse cost Ivory Coast dear as Colombia defeated them 2-1 in a gripping World Cup group match which saw three goals being scored in the space of just nine minutes.

90' 4 minutes of added time.

90' Tiote gets a Yellow Card.

82' Both teams fight for a goal, attacks and counter-attacks galore.

75' The match has picked up with 3 goals flying in the second half.

73' GOAL! Gervinho scores for Ivory Coast

What a goal by Gervinho! http://t.co/twQ7xo2JbL

— Football Vines (@FootballVines) June 19, 2014

70' GOAL! In a brilliant spark of life, Juan Quintero scores Colombia's second goal, making the score 2-0

67' Kalou comes off the bench to replace Gradel.

64' GOAL! James Rodriguez scores for Colombia

This celebration and goal. Quite marvellous. http://t.co/6u2TAalwCS

— Football Vines (@FootballVines) June 19, 2014

59' Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba comes off the bench. This might change the pace of the match

58' Yepes once again rescues Colombia with a great tackle on Max Gradel who could have made the score 1-0 would have had a clear look at goal from only a few yards away.

55' Zakora gets the first Yellow Card of the match.

52' Yaya Toure takes the kick but it's off target.

51' Aguilar concedes a free kick.

47' C. Zapata of Colombia commits a foul.

47' Tiote concedes the first free kick in the second half.

 

45' Second Half begins.

HALF TIME:

45' 1 minute of added time.

44' Colombia doesn't seem to be giving Yaya Toure any room to attack.

40' Gutierrez commits a foul.

37' It looked like Ivory Coast was in trouble for a minute there.

34' Yepes of Colombia takes a shot but it's off target.

31' Aurier sees his effort hit the target, but it's blocked by Ospina.

28' Teofilo Gutierrez misses what could have been a brillaint chance for Colombia, it seems the number nine curse holds true

23' James of Colombia commits a foul.

21' Serey Die commits a foul.

15' James swings in a corner, recieved by Sanchez with a shot on target. But Barry Copa of Ivory Coast blocks the shot.

15' Tiote concedes a free kick.

12' As of now, both teams look a bit scattered, neither making much headway. Colombia seem to have a slightly higher percentage of possession though.

11' Aemero of Colombia concedes a free kick.

10' In the first real action of the match, Gradel takes a corner kick, Aurier is on the end of the cross but it is cleared by the Colombian defence.

6' Teo takes a shot but it's off target.

5' So far both teams struggle a bit to get the ball rolling.

1' And the match is under way.

* The National Anthems begin.

* The players make their way on to the field.

* The squads have been announced. It seems Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba will not be starting.

#CIV LINE-UP: Barry, Boka, Zokora, Tiote, Gervinho, Bony, Gradel, Aurier, Y Toure (c), Serey, Bamba #COLCIV #WorldCup

— FIFAWorldCup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 19, 2014

#COL LINE-UP: Ospina, Zapata, Yepes (c), Sanchez, Armero, Aguilar, Gutierrez, Rodriguez, Cuadrado, Ibarbo, Zuniga #COLCIV #worldcup #joinin

— FIFAWorldCup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 19, 2014

* The Group C match between Colombo and Ivory Coast is set to begin shortly. This will be the first ever game between Colombia and Ivory Coast.

With Radamel Falcao missing the tournament, the South Americans have been dealt another blow as Sevilla forward Carlos Bacca took a knock in training and is now suffering from a first degree muscle strain. The treatment period will be 8-10 days. As a result, Bacca would miss the rest of the group stages. Colombia played a 4-5-1 formation in their opening win over Greece, but could go for a more attacking 4-4-1-1 in Thursday's match versus Cote d'Ivoire as they aim to seal qualification for the next round after just two games. 

Head coach Jose Pekerman will have to make do without Sevilla attacker Carlos Bacca due to injury, but Inter midfielder Fredy Guarin returns after missing their first match due to suspension. Pekerman is unlikely to make any changes at the back, yet seems ready to give three new players a chance to prove their worth in midfield and up front. The aforementioned Guarin is expected to get the nod in midfield at the expense of Abel Aguilar, while Juan Quintero could also feature from the start in place of Victor Ibarbo. In attack, Pekerman will make a choice between Teo Gutierrez, who scored against Greece, and Jackson Martinez, with the Porto man sitting in pole position to start at this point. Cote d’Ivoire coach Sabri Lamouchi, meanwhile, will have some serious selection headaches as well following his side’s hard-fought win over Japan. Read The Full Match Preview Here.

Read Also: FIFA World Cup 2014: Teofilo Gutierrez breaks Colombia's number nine curse

Colombia Team Profile:

Goal King Radamel Falcao's Colombia were the revelation of the South American qualifiers, but the striker himself will watch the finals from the stands after losing his race to get over a knee injury. The nation however make a welcome return to the World Cup fold at Brazil 2014 for the first time since France 1998. Colombia have been drawn in Group C with dark horses Greece, African giants Ivory Coast and the Blue Samurai of Japan.

Player To Look Out For: James Rodriguez

Their qualifying campaign started in a sluggish manner, which cost coach Leonel Alvarez his job. Jose Pekerman, the first foreigner to take the job in 20 years, stepped into the hot seat in January 2012. Argentine coach then made the Cafeteros, as Colombia are known as, formidable home force with their powerful forward line backed up by a similarly mean defence. Pekerman managed, despite Latin football's ups and downs, to keep Colombia focused on the task of qualification and rack up the necessary points to come second in the group, two points behind winners Argentina.

Read the Full Team Profile Here

Also View: Some stellar pictures from Brazil's FIFA World Cup 2014

Ivory Coast Team Profile:

Brazil provides a fitting stage for the swansong of the great Ivoirian striker Didier Drogba and the generation of players whose entertaining game has carried the Elephants to three consecutive finals. But while the quality of their play during the tournaments has convinced, the results have generally fallen a little short. They failed to qualify from the group phase in 2006 and 2010, with a defeat to Brazil, a draw with Portugal and a win against North Korea resulting in an early plane home.

Player to Look Out For: Didier Drogba

Drogba, now 36years old, is at Galatasaray in Turkey now and likely to be less sharp than when propelling Chelsea to giddy heights. The monstrous striker led Ivory Coast to two African Cup of Nations finals in 2006 and 2012 only to suffer the agony of penalty shoot-out defeats. In the two previous finals phases Ivory Coast fell at the group stage despite looking hot. Along with Drogba,  Brazil will doubtless be a farewell campaign for Liverpool's Kolo Toure (33) and Didier Zokora (33). Sabri Lamouchi has been at the helm since early 2012 and can also count upon Manchester City midfielder and double African player of the year Yaya Toure, reborn AS Roma hitmman Gervinho and the Lille striker Salomon Kalou, their top striker in qualifyingwith 5 goals in 7 games.

Read The Full Team Profile Here.

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