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Didier Drogba: Saturday Benching Was Blessing in Disguise for Ivory Coast
Published: January 26, 2013
The reason that the longtime Chelsea star striker wasn't in was partially due to his struggles against Togo in the opening match, which the Elephants barely won by a score of 2-1. He had just three days of rest prior to that fixture (h/t Pro Soccer Talk) and was simply fatigued.
As risky as the move was, Lamouchi still pulled the trigger with three points already in the bag. The Elephants now sit atop Group D thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Eagles of Carthage, keyed by a strong effort on the attack that Drogba didn't figure prominently into.
Extremely talented winger Gervinho, who plays for the English Premier League squad Arsenal, flashed his ability with a phenomenal goal to open the scoring in the 21st minute. Gervinho also scored the winner in the fixture with Togo.
Drogba didn't sub in until the 68th minute, as the attack began to stagnate and was in need of a spark. Although he didn't score, the Elephants were able to free up enough space to blow the game open at the end thanks to goals by Yaya Toure and substitute Didier Ya Konan in the closing few minutes.
As the Ivory Coast's all-time national team leader with 59 goals in 93 appearances, it was certainly an encouraging sign that the Elephants were able to thrive on offense without too much assistance from their most prolific scorer in Drogba.
Now that Ivory Coast are guaranteed a spot in the knockout face of the Cup of Nations, they have a golden tune-up opportunity on Jan. 30 against the eliminated Algerian national team.
The Greens have nothing but pride to play for next Wednesday, while the Elephants can tinker with strategy and continue ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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