The two best sides in Group C kick off the day's action in a match that could guarantee advancement for at least one of Colombia or Cote d'Ivoire.
Group C
Despite the absence of Radamel Falcao, Colombia kicked off their World Cup with a convincing 3-0 victory over Greece. Teofilo Gutierrez did a solid job filling in at striker for Colombia's missing star, while James Rodriguez impressed once again for his country and was threatening throughout. Colombia looked good, but then it didn't hurt that Greece struggled to do anything especially threatening, a side poorly equipped to fight back after falling behind to an early goal. Cote d'Ivoire, on the other hand, should prove a tougher test.
The scoreline may only have read 2-1, but Cote d'Ivoire were dominant against Japan, dominating in the run of play and looking the best African side at the World Cup so far by a fair margin. In the final third their finishing let them down, and the decision to start Wildred Bony in place of Didier Drogba—despite Bony's goal—appeared a misstep by manager Sabri Lamouchi. In midfield and defence, though, Lamouchi has his side operating at a high level, and it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Cote d'Ivoire secure their advancement from Group C today.
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