Dutch Victory Breaks Hearts in Ivory Coast
June 16, 2006
A sell-out crowd packed the stands of Stuttgart's Gottlieb Daimler Stadium to watch the Netherlands take on Ivory Coast. The Dutch came into the Group C match knowing that a win, thanks to Argentina's victory earlier in the day, would clinch a berth in the next round. Meanwhile, a loss for Ivory Coast would mean they would go home after their third match.
With so much at stake, both sides started nervously, and there were no early goal chances. That all changed in the 23rd minute, when Netherlands forward Robin van Persie decided to take matters into his own hands, slashing laterally and drawing a free-kick just outside the penalty box. Van Persie then slammed the ball home past keeper Jean-Jacques Titié to put his side up by one.
Not to be outdone, Arjen Robben capped a nice solo run four minutes later by finding Ruud van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy broke a long scoring drought and gave the Oranjes a 2-0 lead.
The Ivory Coast fought back and were rewarded in the 38th minute. Bakary Kone pushed the ball up the right and slammed a rocket past Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar. The score at half-time was 2-1 for the Netherlands. Shortly before the whistle, there was bad news for the "Elephants," as their top goal-getter Didier Drogba picked up a yellow card. He misses the next match.
As to be expected, Ivory Coast were the more aggressive team in the second half, but they had major difficulties advancing the ball into the Dutch penalty area. The Netherlands concentrated their efforts on defense, hoping to catch their opponents napping on a counter-attack.
The best scoring chance came with roughly a quarter of hour left in regulation time. The Netherlands failed to deal with a well-struck Ivory Coast corner-kick, forcing van Persie to chest the ball away on the line.
But that was the only second-half situation in which the Dutch goal was seriously under threat. The Netherlands get a deserved, if workmanlike 2-1 victory against one of Africa's best sides and are assured of progressing into the next round. They meet Argentina on June 21st to determine the winner of Group C. Ivory Coast, on the other hand, will head home after their last match against Serbia-Montenegro.