Colombia beats Ivory Coast 2-1

Colombia overcame the African challenge of Cote D’Ivoire by a margin of 2-1 to top the group C in the world cup. They survived a late scare from Ivory Coast after having taken a lead of 2-0 to be assured of a place in the last 16.

The first half went goalless as both teams adopted the safety-first policy and the standard of the game never reached up to its expectation. There were few half chances as there were more square passes and back passes than forward through balls.

The match certainly got much of its life back after the restart. Colombia took the lead through a powerful header by James Rodriguez from a well-delivered corner in the 64^th minute of the match. Few minutes later the Colombians piled on the agony of Ivory Coast when Juan Quintero doubled their lead. Gervinho reduced the margin in the 73^rd minute with a powerful shot that gave a glimmer of hope to the Africans. But they failed to get the equalizer even after trying hard and it ended 2-1 in favour of the South Americans.

The Colombians are now quite assured of a place in the last 16 and they have one more match to play against Japan. Ivory Coast now has to depend on the results of the other matches for a qualification into the next round.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.