Essien desires Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire final

Ghana’s Michael Essien will like to play against his Chelsea of England team mates, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in the grand finale of the 26th edition of the MTN African Cup of Nations holding in his homeland. Essien said on Thursday ahead of Ghana’s second match against Namibia that he would be enthused to play against Drogba in the final match due to the high quality the two teams possessed. He said Ghana must not be considered favourites because they were playing at home, but must be so rated based on the team’s quality, which made it the only African team that went beyond the first round at the World Cup in Germany 2006. The Chelsea ace said the Ghanaian team had a character, which came into play in the opening match where it competed to the end and deservedly got victory, albeit by a late strike from Sulley Muntari Despite the first round defeat of Nigeria and Cameroon by Cote d’Ivoire and Egypt, respectively, Essien still regards the two previous winners of the championship among the favourites. “After assessing the performances of the teams, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt and Cameroon are the favourites to win the trophy. “A final involving Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire will be a fitting climax to the championship.”