Ivory Coast 1 Nigeria 0: Drogba fires Ivory Coast past Super Eagles into Cairo final

Drogba celebrates leading his country to the Nations' Cup final

In the end, the drums drowned out the brass. As Didier Drogba led his Ivory Coast team in a gleeful dance before the orange-clad fans who had maintained an exuberant percussion throughout, the Nigerians, after a mid-pitch huddle, slunk away, their fans too disillusioned even to raise their trumpets in a last post for the international career of Jay-Jay Okocha.

At least the Bolton midfielder did at last make an appearance, but his farewell game was restricted to 36 minutes as a substitute for John Obi Mikel. Briefly it appeared he might make a difference, but he soon faded, and Drogba's goal two minutes after half-time was enough to carry Ivory Coast to their first Nations' Cup final since 1992. "For me it's over," Okocha said. "There is always a time to say goodbye, and for me this is it. We maybe paid for our lack of experience. They were just better than us."

Obi Mikel himself, after an outstanding tournament, finally produced a display some way short of world-beating, but the 18-year-old will have plenty more Nations' Cups to come.

"We were poor in all departments," admitted the Nigeria coach, Augustine Eguavoen. "I don't know why, but we slowed the game down. Maybe it was fatigue." More likely, though, it was his baffling team changes; the curse of wilful inconsistency that seems always to dog the Super Eagles. Out went the 4-2-3-1 formation in favour of a flat midfield four, and with it went Yussuf Ayila, who has been excellent sitting just in front of the back four, and Obi Mikel's sense of adventure. In their place came Kanu, previously an effective substitute in this tournament, but he looked lost.

Ivory Coast, by contrast, throbbed with brio, and if they lack subtlety it has not mattered so far in the competition. Yaya Touré is a dominant, physical figure in central midfield and Koffi N'dri seems tireless while,in Drogba they have not only a supreme leader of the line but somebody who seems to thrive on the responsibility of the captaincy.

His finishing is often criticised, but in a game of few opportunities he took the one chance to fall his way yesterday with admirable composure. Joseph Enakarhire misjudged the flight of N'dri's long pass, and when it reached Drogba, he waited for Vincent Enyeama to commit before sliding his shot between the keeper's legs. "He was at least seven yards offside," claimed Eguavoen, but it was an empty complaint that would be answered as soon as he saw a replay: Drogba was comfortably on.

This, ultimately, was a victory far more emphatic than the scoreline may suggest, but Kolo Touré denied there had been a shift in the balance of power in West African football. "They are still a great team," he said. "We still respect them. We have won nothing yet." They can put that right on Friday.

Ivory Coast (4-4-2): Tizie (Esperance); Eboue (Arsenal), K Touré (Arsenal), Meite (Marseilles), Boka (Strasbourg); Yapi (Nantes), Zokora (St-Etienne), Y Touré (Olympiakos), N'dri (Le Mans); Kalou (Paris St-Germain), Drogba (Chelsea). Substitutes used: Fae (Nantes) for Yapi, 60; Zoro (Messina) for Eboue, 66; Kone (PSV Eindhoven) for Kalou, 76.

Nigeria (4-4-2): Enyeama (Bnei Yehuda); Odiah (CSKA Moscow), Yobo (Everton), Enakarhire (Dinamo Moscow), Taiwo (Marseilles); Odemwingie (Lille), Kaita (Sparta Rotterdam), Obi Mikel (Lyn), Nsofor (Chievo); Martins (Internazionale), Kanu (West Bromwich Albion). Substitutes used: Okocha (Bolton) for Obi Mikel 54; Makinwa (Palermo) for Odemwingie 63; Aghahowa (Shakhtar Donetsk) for Kanu 74.

Referee: J Damon (South Africa).