After a nightmare second round of matches, Ivory Coast find themselves on the verge of elimination after tomorrows game against North Korea.A solid draw against Portugal in the first game now looks Roger Maris Jersey like two crucial points lost, as a lo s to Brazil and Portugal beating the Koreans leaves the Elephants teetering on the brink.Such was the manner of Portugals victory, a 7-0 romp, that not only do Sven Goran Erik sons team need to win and hope that Portugal lose to Brazil, they also require a nine goal swing in their favour.Tiago scored twice in Portugal's 7-0 mastercla sSuch a swing is not impo sible, as the last two group games demonstrated, but it leaves hope in short supply for Ivorian fans.Striker Gervinho is confident, however, that Brazil will do their bit and push for victory over Portugal. Having already qualified, the five-time former champions could be forgiven for resting key players, but Gervinho expects no let up from either side.I do not think they will take the foot off the pedal, he said. First, the Brazilian and Portuguese players will want to honour the opportunity to represent their respective countries and cannot afford not to give everything. Then they will also be hoping to play a le s powerful opponent in the second round.If Portugal do lose, Ivory Coast will need to beat North Korea by a hefty margin, a task they will look to captain Didier Drogba to lead. But defender Sol Bamba has expre sed concern at Drogbas injury, a broken elbow sustained in a warm up game before the World Cup.We can tell he is not 100% fit, said Bamba. Didier is our captain and a ma sive influence and it was a disappointment with his injury.Drogba, the only Ivorian to score so far in South Africa, with his sides consolation goal against Brazil, will lead the line against North Korea, partnering Dindane and Kalou as the Elephants must go for an impre sive win.Erik son may bring Gervinho into the midfield, to add pace and attacking threat to the trio of Yaya Toure, Cheik Tiote and Emmanuel Eboue who have provided resilience but little adventure so far in the tournament.The former England manager will not dismi s the dangers posed by North Korea, however, the much unfancied team having already made Brazil work hard for an opening 2-1 victory.The Koreans coach, Kim Jong Hun, is adamant that his side will not be pushovers. Though we will not be able to reach our objectives, we have one game left and we will reinforce our mental abilities and prepare well for that match.In the final match against Ivory Coast we will have to think over our strategy and tactics that will give us the best result there, he added, hinting at changes for the final group game.The North Korean coach is looking for his team's first points of the tournamentStar striker Jong Tae-se will lead the line for North Korea, and his impre sive display against Brazil suggests that the Ivorian back four of Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora, Guy Demel and Siaka Tiene will have their work cut out if a win is to be gained, let alone a wide margin of victory.A much improved performance is needed from that which saw Ivory Coast fall at the hands of Brazil. But the impetus to turn around a nine-goal deficit between themselves and Portugal could be just what they need to provoke an attacking display.Gervinho is confident that the Elephants have it in them to get the right result, and at the very least a performance to make their fans proud. The most important thing is to win this game. We must hold our heads up high and get a win in this competition for the Ivorian people.Gervinho is confident that Ivory Coast can restore some national pride against North KoreaDrogba, meanwhile, admits that they have made qualification difficult for themselves. Its going to be hard for us to qualify now because our fates no longer in our hands, said the Chelsea striker. Our team has made progre s since the last World Cup, but we could have been a bit more ambitious and tried to go for the game a bit more.But it is the optimism of Gervinho and Guy Demel they will need if they are to turn things around. Demel has not given up hope, and his words sum up what Ivory Coast need to believe on Friday evening: Theres one match to go and we owe it to ourselves to win it and hope events go in our favour. Nothings over yet. Willie McGee Jersey