The surprises continued at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations on Monday after Côte d'Ivoire were held to a goalless draw by Burkina Faso in their Group B encounter in Cabinda.
The Ivorians had put eight goals past the Burkinabe in their two matches in qualifying for the tournament, but despite having over 20 shots on goal in this game, they failed to find the back of the net.
With Togo now disqualified from the competition, it could mean the team who gets the better result against Group B rivals Ghana in their second pool game will advance to the quarter finals - although it's of course possible that both could beat the Black Stars and move on to the next stage.
Despite having the lion's share of possession and a lot of ball in the final third of the pitch, Côte d'Ivoire did not look their usual clinical selves and at times were very lethargic, though to be fair it was a hot and steamy night in Cabinda.
Didier Drogba went down in the Burkina Faso penalty area inside two minutes for what looked like a spot-kick, but the referee waved play-on, while soon afterwards Emmanuel Eboue had a penalty shout of his own which was also turned down.
Elephants midfielder Cheik Tiote fired over from 35 yards, while Drogba's beautifully-weighted ball found Bakary Kone in the penalty area, but his shot was straight at Burkinabe goalkeeper Daouda Diakite.
Despite having much of the play, the Côte d'Ivoire side were frustrated by Burkina Faso putting 11 men behind the ball in a stout defensive effort that saw the game scoreless at the break.
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Kone shot wide from the edge of the area in the first real chance of the second half, 10 minutes in, while at the other end Boubacar Barry was forced into his first save of the evening from a speculative long-range effort.
Almost immediately the Ivorians should have been ahead. Gervinho showed superb skill on the byline to get a low cross into the path of Kone, but he missed his third - and easiest - chance of the night.
Madi Panandetiguiri brought down Drogba inches outside the penalty area for a free kick, but Siake Tiene's effort with his left-foot was comfortably saved by Diakite.
Drogba side-footed wide at the back post, and he then tested Diakite at his near post, but the keeper did well to smother.
Substitute Aruna Dindane forced a more acrobatic save out of the Burkinabe keeper and the Ivorians created a few more half-chances in the dying seconds, but nothing clear-cut and nothing to trouble the scorers.
