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Neither the globe’s
most expensive soccer player, nor one of its most prolific marksmen
were able on Tuesday to remedy a worrying shortage of goals at Africa’s
first World Cup.

Both 80 million
pounds striker Cristiano Ronaldo, and goal machine Didier Drogba drew
blanks when Portugal and Ivory Coast played out a goalless Group G
encounter to add to the paucity of goals in South Africa so far. After
13 matches the net has bulged just 20 times, an average of 1.54 per
game, way below the 2.30 average for the whole of Germany 2006 and
higher figures in previous years. Portugal’s Ronaldo came closest when
he hit the post in Port Elizabeth with a thundering long range shot,
and Drogba came on as a second half substitute for the Ivory Coast
despite a fractured arm.

The day’s earlier
match produced only two goals when Slovakia and New Zealand drew 1-1 in
a Group F game. That clash of the outsiders in Rustenburg gave each
their first points in a World Cup as cold temperatures and pouring rain
hit the only winter edition of the tournament since 1978, even
extending to the tropical port of Durban.

Exceptional Germans

Only the German
side has shown real World Cup class so far with a 4-0 drubbing of
Australia on Sunday that will have surely struck fear into their big
name rivals. While South Africans continue to exude pride and
excitement at hosting the tournament, there was tragic news from
elsewhere on the continent. Residents of anarchic Somalia said Islamic
militants had killed two people and arrested 35 for breaking their
strict ban on watching the tournament on television.

Fairly Peaceful

While this
tournament has largely been problem free and filled with joy despite
the lack of goals, about 2,000 stadium stewards in Durban who clashed
with riot police in a protest over wages early on Monday were paid off
on Tuesday. Police said they were taking over security at Durban,
Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth stadiums because of the
dispute.

Dispute hasn’t been
restricted to labour issues, however, and controversy is growing among
players and coaches over the World Cup’s new ball, called the Jabulani.
Crosses, free-kicks and long-range shots have been skying over their
targets in the thin air. Another issue is the incessant whine of the
vuvuzelas with teams now experimenting with sign language, especially
when goalkeepers are trying to organise a defensive wall.

But the plastic trumpet clearly has some fans. An iPhone application
that copies the drone that has been compared to a swarm of giant bees
has been downloaded more than a million times. Even though the
application was designed in the Netherlands, this is unlikely to please
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk, the tournament’s chief curmudgeon and
most vociferous critic of the South African instrument.