Goals: Ivory Coast—Bony 64' Gervinho 66'; Japan—Honda 16'
Recap: It took more than 60 minutes, but the Ivory Coast finally exorcised the demons of World Cups past with a 2-1 victory over Japan.
The match opened with a laser-guided missile from Japan's Keisuke Honda in the 16th minute. Unfortunately for Honda, his strike would be neutralized by a Wilfried Bony header in the second half. Just two minutes later, it was Gervinho who polished off a cultured cross from Serge Aurier to give the Ivory Coast an insurmountable 2-1 lead.
The victory moved Gervinho and company one step closer to advancing to the Round of 16 for the first time ever.
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Key Moment: It's the duty of every head coach to make tactical substitutions. None was bigger than Sabri Lamouchi's decision to bring in Didier Drogba. Just two minutes after his entry, the Elephants equalized. Two minutes after that—riding the wave of momentum and a tactical shift—the victory was theirs.
Man of the Match: Gervinho and Bony headed the Elephants home, but it was Serge Aurier who delivered the impeccable service. The 21-year-old finished with an 85 percent passing accuracy, but more importantly, two timely assists.
Lesson Learned: The Ivory Coast are determined to right the wrongs of years past. After failing to qualify for the Round of 16 in each of the last two World Cups, the Elephants took one giant step toward qualification. Their road still features tough challenges in the form of Greece and Colombia, but they showed every indication they'll be up for the task.
Up Next: The Ivory Coast travels to Brasilia on June 19 to battle Colombia for group dominance, while Japan hopes to rebound against Greece in Natal.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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