BY Victor Akhidenor
Ivory Coast left captain Didier Drogba out of the starting line-up but it was his arrival off the bench after an hour that coincided with the their breakthrough in front of goal.
Headers by Wilfried Bony and Gervinho just 98 seconds apart took Ivory Coast to a winning start at the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Japan in Recife.
Keisuke Honda had put Japan ahead with a fantastic strike after 16 minutes, and as Ivory Coast continued to miss chance after chance, it seemed their bid to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time would wait till another World Cup.
However, Drogba’s introduction gave Japan something else to think about and, while they were doing that, Bony, and then Gervinho, nipped in to convert crosses from right-back, Serge Aurier.
Despite 65 goals in 101 appearances for his country, legendary striker Drogba was left on the bench as Swansea’s Bony – 11 years his junior – was preferred up front, and an early shot deflected wide suggested that would prove to be the right decision.
However, having been afforded far too much time just inside the penalty area, AC Milan midfielder Honda shifted the ball from his right to left foot before drilling a shot inside a stationary Boubacar Barry’s right-hand post.
Atsuto Uchida should have made it 2-0 after cutting in from the right but opted to go for goal and shot straight at the goalkeeper with team-mates well placed in the middle.
Ivory Coast, with Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure captaining the side but plainly not at his best after recovering from a hamstring injury, stepped up the pressure but failed to test goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, with Salomon Kalou heading over from six yards just before the break.
With frustration growing, Drogba was introduced and, within six minutes, his side were ahead – although the former Chelsea striker, who immediately teed up Gervinho for a half-chance, was not involved.
Bony equalised in 65th minute with a glancing header, before the former Arsenal forward beat Kawashima all too easily at his near post to stun the Japanese.
Cote d’Ivoire’s next game is on Thursday against Colombia, who defeated Greece 3-nil also on Saturday.
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