Ivory Coast and Portugal opened their World Cup campaigns with a goalless draw as Didier Drogba returned to action just ten days after surgery on his broken arm.
The African superstar, wearing a protective cast, was introduced as a second half substitute but he was unable to tip the balance.
Portugal's captain Cristiano Ronaldo had the best chance to break the stalemate when he rattled the post in the 10th minute.
But Ivory Coast, the last of the six teams from Africa to open their finals campaign in South Africa, gave as good as they got against the world's third ranked team.
Ghana is the only African team to have won their opening match.
