Perhaps the pressure was too much or perhaps the hype surrounding the Ivory Coast has been too high. Whatever the reason, their goalless draw against Burkina Faso has stunned the African footballing world.

Coast are the favourites for the African Cup of Nations and were expected to win it before embarking on their World Cup campaign in South Africa as the strongest African representative.

None of that counted for anything against Burkina Faso as Coast failed to break down their opponents in a disappointing 90 minutes.

They now need to beat Ghana on Friday in their only other game in a three-team group or face a shock exit from the tournament at the first stage.

That would be a serious setback to a country eager to be be considered genuine contenders for the World Cup.

The inquest into their struggle against Burkina Faso has already begun and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba maintained that recent events off the pitch had affected what happened on it.

The gun attack on the Togo bus on Friday which left three backroom staff dead and goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale in a serious condition was cited by Drogba as one reason why he and his team mates failed to break down Burkina, but he also admitted that Coast had simply not played well enough.

He said: "We did not forget what happened to Togo, but - now the competition has started - we are trying to focus on the game.

"After what happened a few days ago it was difficult to concentrate. We did our best but they played like they had 10 at the back."

Coach Vahid Halilhodzic remains confident his side will overcome Ghana and advance in the competition, but he also accepted that his side had been disappointing.

"We are now in a very difficult situation," he said. "But we still have all the cards in our hands and I know we can go through."

However, it is not all bad news according to Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue, who was unfortunate n the 20th minute when he was clearly fouled by Hamadou Tall inside the area, only to see his penalty appeal waved away.

He remained defiant at the final whistle, insisting that Halilhodzic's side can go through to the quarter-final, with millions watching the contest against Ghana to see if the Elephants can cope with the heightened pressure.

Eboue said: "Burkina Faso were sitting back and waiting for us, but we didn't score. In the first game of a tournament it is important not to lose, so this is a good point for us."