Ronaldo and Drogba cannot break goal shortage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}By Barry Moody
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - 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 ($123.7 million) 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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
BRAZIL GOALS?
Spectators around the world will be looking to five-times champions Brazil to correct the dearth of goals later on Tuesday when they meet World Cup hermits and the tournament's lowest-ranked team North Korea.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But the Samba Boys have struggled recently against the kind of packed defense North Korea is likely to play, which can stifle their open game.
Predictions over the Brazil-North Korea game range from a feast of exciting goals from the super-talented Brazilians led by Kaka and Robinho to another struggle by Dunga's men against an ultra-defensive team.
The North Koreans are no exception to everything else about their reclusive state -- little is known about them except they have trained for a marathon four months, are very fit and defensively minded.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That could be a worry for Brazil, who have lost some of their famous flair under coach Dunga, whose team choice has been castigated in the domestic press. Even at home they failed to breach the defensive walls of lowly Venezuela, Colombia and Bolivia in World Cup qualifiers.
North Korea are trying to emulate their successes in their only previous appearance 44 years ago. Then they reached the quarter finals after humiliating the soccer aristocrats of Italy who were pelted by tomatoes by disgusted fans when they returned home.
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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 labor 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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another issue is the incessant whine of the vuvuzelas with teams now experimenting with sign language, especially when goalkeepers are trying to organize 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 app 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 fan instrument.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Reporting by Reuters World Cup team; writing by Barry Moody and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Ossian Shine)