Any chance Ivory Coast had of making a serious run in World Cup betting may have ended on Friday when star striker Didier Drogba broke his arm in a warm up match against Japan.
Drogba is expected to miss at least some of the World Cup and the chances of Ivory Coast even making it out of the group stage in World Cup odds are now questionable. World Cup betting odds listed Ivory Coast as a definite contender even though they are in a tough group with Brazil and Portugal. Without Drogba in the lineup it is unlikely that Ivory Coast will have enough scoring to reach the round of sixteen. Drogba was injured in Ivory Coast’s 2-0 win over Japan. He was hurt after a high challenge by Japan’s Marcus Tulio Tanaka. The team said that Drogba fractured his right arm although their coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was not totally ruling Drogba out of action. Drogba had surgery over the weekend and there is a chance he could still play.
Drogba had 29 goals this season for Chelsea and Ivory Coast was considered a threat in Group G because of his scoring ability. Ivory Coast opens up play against Portugal on June 15th and without Drogba’s scoring it seems unlikely they will be able to win that match. The World Cup odds on Ivory Coast had been dropping and were as low as 23-1 to win it all. Look for those odds to rise now that Drogba is out. Also look for the odds on the Ivory Coast matches to be adjusted a little bit. Portugal was already the favorite in the opening match against Ivory Coast and those World Cup betting odds may go up a little bit with the news that Drogba is out.
Friday was not a good day for star players as England’s captain Rio Ferdinand was injured during training in Rustenburg, South Africa. Also on Friday, Italy learned that midfielder Andrea Pirlo has an injured calf and his status is questionable. United States striker Jozy Altidore has a sprained right ankle and his status is up in the air and even Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar has been dealing with a back injury. The World Cup has already lost a number of high profile players. In addition to Drogba, other players who are injured and out of the World Cup include England’s David Beckham, Germany’s Michael Ballack and Ghana’s Michael Essien.