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Quite possibly the most important match up of the first round, both Ivory Coast and Portugal are trying to fight to determine who moves on to the next round as Brazil is a shoo in to move on, and North Korea is getting knocked out no matter what. This is a tough draw for both teams.
Ivory Coast is potentially the best team in Africa, if not one fo the best, and a lot of Africa is riding the hopes that this will be their year. Didier Drogba of Chelsea is a big scoring threat for Chelsea, and if he struggles, so will Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, Portugal is more balanced and has more star power, but less elite talent than Drogba provides Ivory Coast with. However, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the top five players in the world, and Portugal is riding his coat tails to the second round. This game is a coin flip, and while most people would give a slight edge to Portugal, do not discount the fact that this game is being played in Africa.
This game is the most evenly matched of all of the first round games, so avoid betting on it altogether. The line on this game is showing Ivory Coast at +200, Portugal +135 and the draw at +235
