THE Elephants forward Gervinho is without question the brightest star in the Ivory Coast team and his creativity and enthusiasm will be vital if the Africans are to grind out a result against Brazil today.

In their opening game against Portugal, Ivory Coast looked by far the better team and now need to reproduce the same football against the Samba boys.

The other ingredient that will be nothing less than mandatory to succeed is a somewhat fit Didier Drogba. The Golden Boot winner did not feature until the 66th minute against Portugal but Goran Eriksson could start him today.

Should he start, the Elephants will be in an even better position to push for a difficult but important three points.
Brazil are one of the favourites for this World Cup but their hard fought victory over North Korea is testament that they are not untouchable like they used to be.

Ivory Coast has a solid defensive unit and enough talent in the midfield and upfront to score against Lucio, Juan, Maicon, Melo, and Cesar.

Again, I hate to go back to him, but I think it all lies on the shoulders of Didier Drogba. He doesn’t have to score a hat trick but his presence alone can be enough to open up some opportunities for Gervinho and others. God luck to Ivory Coast and Africa!!!

Ends