June 21, 2006
IVORY COAST FINISHES IN STYLE
Elephants overcome deficit, win 3-2

MUNICH, Germany -- Ivory Coast overcame an early two-goal deficit and won its first World Cup in a 3-2 win over Serbia and Montenegro on Wednesday.

Aruna Dindane scored twice and Bonaventura Kalou bagged the game-winner four minutes from regulation for Ivory Coast.

Both teams had been eliminated entering the match as neither side could beat Argentina or the Netherlands.

Serbia opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Dejan Stankovic found Nikola Zigic alone in front of the goal. Zigic beat the Africans’ offside trap and knocked the ball into the back of the net.

It was the first goal scored by Serbia and Montenegro since it was part of Yugoslavia in 1998. Stankovic was a part of Yugoslavia’s 1998 World Cup team.

Serbia doubled its lead in the 20th minute when Sasa Ilic beat Ivory Coast’s defense and slipped a ball past Ivory Coast keeper Boubacar Barry.

Serbian defender Milan Dudic gave Ivory Coast a chance to get back into the game. He handled the ball inside the penalty area in the 35th minute and was subsequently booked.

Aruna Dindane knocked in a spot kick in the 37th minute, moments after he’d slipped a spot kick into the corner of the net. Referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez disallowed the initial penalty kick as an Ivory Coast player stepped inside the penalty area before the kick was fired but it only delayed the goal.

Minutes later, Dindane nearly leveled terms after slipping past the Serbian defense but his open left-footed shot was turned away by Serbain keeper

Serbia nearly drew a penalty kick in the 41st minute but referee Rodriguez awarded Serbia a free kick inches outside the penalty area after a foul on Ivory Coast Cyrille Domoraud. Contact between Domoraud and Serbia’s Predrag Djordjevic appeared to have happened inside the penalty area. Djordjevic missed on the ensuing free kick.

Serbia’s Albert Nadj was sent off after receiving a second booking in first-half stoppage time. Nadj went in recklessly on Ivory Coast’s Kader Keita.

Dindane eventually broke through in the second half. Keita sent a well-placed ball on goal an Dindane headed the ball home and gave Ivory Coast an equalizer they could not find against Argentina or the Netherlands.

Kalou scored the game-winner in the 86th minute when he scored on a penalty kick. Ivory Coast was awarded a penalty kick after the ball hit a Serbian defender in the arm.

Ivory Coast won its first-ever World Cup match, albeit too late to have any impact on the standings.

Ivory Coast
Boubacar Barry; Arthur Boka, Blaise Kouassi, Cyrille Domoraud, Emmanuel Eboue; Kanga Akale (Bakary Kone-59), Didier Zokora, Kader Keita (Bonaventure Kalou-72), Yaya Toure; Arouna Kone, Aruna Dindane.

Serbia and Montenegro
Dragoslav Jevric;; Goran Gavrancic, Nenad Djordjevic, Milan Dudic, Mladen Krstajic (Albert Nadj-16); Ivan Ergic, Igor Duljaj, Dejan Stankovic, Predrag Djordjevic, Sasa Ilic; Nikola Zigic (Savo Milosevic-66).

Goals
Serbia and Montenegro -- Nikola Zigic 10
Serbia and Montenegro -- Sasa Ilic 20
Ivory Coast -- Aruna Dindane (penalty kick) 37
Ivory Coast -- Aruna Dindane 67
Ivory Coast -- Bonaventure Kalou (penalty kick) 86

Discipline
Serbia and Montenegro -- Albert Nadj (yellow card) 17
Ivory Coast -- Kader Keita (yellow card) 33
Serbia and Montenegro -- Milan Dudic (yellow card) 36
Serbia and Montenegro -- Igor Duljaj (yellow card) 37
Ivory Coast -- Cyrille Domoraud (yellow card) 41
Ivory Coast -- Aruna Dindane (yellow card) 43
Serbia and Montenegro -- Albert Nadj (yellow card) 46+
Serbia and Montenegro -- Albert Nadj (red card) 46+
Serbia and Montenegro -- Goran Gavrancic (yellow card) 57
Ivory Coast -- Cyrille Domoraud (yellow card) 92+
Ivory Coast -- Cyrille Domoraud (red card) 92+

Attendance -- 66,000