The 29-year-old two-time African Nations Cup winning defender admitted that Drogba - scorer of two goals so far - was a top class forward but if they concerned themselves too much with him then they risked disaster.

"Didier Drogba is one of the top strikers in Africa, and in the English Premiership," said Song.

"We must be focused and vigilant as regards him, but there are many others in the Ivory Coast team that are also dangerous," added Song, who is set to win his 103rd cap and extend his record of African Nations Cup finals appearances to 27.

Drogba's Chelsea teammate Geremi echoed his captain's feelings.

"Didier is a damn fine striker, he is as effective with his feet as his head, and we obviously have to keep an eye on him," said Geremi, who scored in the 2-0 win over Democratic Republic of Congo.

"However Ivory Coast did not just qualify for the World Cup finals because of him. Yes his goals helped but they have many others in the team that are capable of hurting us if we focus too much on Didier," added Geremi, a member of the 2000 Olympic winning team and two African Nations Cup title victories.