A deflected Didier Drogba freekick gave Ivory Coast a 54th minute lead, before Souleymane Bamba doubled the lead on 74 minutes.

But Paraguay were back in action with two goals from Lucas Barrios and Aureliano Torres on 75 and 89 minutes.

The game, played at Stade Joseph-Monyat in France, marked Sven Goran Eriksson debut as Ivory Coast manager.

The Elephants are in the crunch Group G including Brazil, Portugal and North Korea, whereas Paraguay play in Group F with Italy, New Zealand and Slovakia.