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Ivory Coast Cheick Out Of Brazil
Written by Newcastle Utd
Cheick Tiote is heading back to Tyneside after Ivory Coast were eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage
By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor
Cheick Tiote is heading back to Tyneside after Ivory Coast were eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage.
The Elephants seemed to be on their way through to last 16 of the tournament but a last-gasp, controversial penalty condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Greece on Tuesday night.
It left Ivory Coast third in Group C with three points from as many fixtures.
Tiote started again in the heart of the midfield but his error just before half-time handed Greece the lead. The 28-year-old sloppily lost possession, allowing Andreas Samaris to race through and score.
Swansea front man Wilfried Bony levelled on 74 minutes and that looked to be enough for Ivory Coast to qualify.
But Georgios Samaras tumbled inside the area under the challenge of Giovanni Si deep into stoppage time, and the big striker picked himself up to slot home the resulting spot-kick.