Michael Essien and Kevin-Prince Boateng have returned from international breaks to be named in Ghana’s squad for next month’s World Cup qualifier.
Egypt face a fight for Africa Cup of Nations survival this weekend while Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal could qualify for the 2012 tournament.
Michael Essien’s importance to Ghana cannot be underestimated, leaving the Black Stars on edge as they await a decision on his fitness.
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/ 1 February 2010
Coach Milovan Rajevac believes Ghana’s display at the African Cup of Nations will help his players at the World Cup, despite losing the final to Egypt
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/ 22 January 2010
Chelsea and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien will be out of action for up to six weeks after returning from the African Nations Cup with a knee injury.
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/ 18 January 2010
Ghana suffered a blow to their hopes of qualifying for the Afcon quarterfinals when Michael Essien was ruled out of the game against Burkina Faso.
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/ 18 January 2010
Day eight of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday dished up a five-goal thriller in Lubango and a potentially massive injury blow for Ghana.
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/ 7 September 2009
Ghana became the first African nation to qualify for the World Cup after beating Sudan 2-0 on Sunday.
Africa’s top footballers head wearily back from a demanding club season in Europe for an intensive month of World Cup qualifiers starting this weekend. Players like Michael Essien, Samuel Eto’o, Frederic Kanoute, Nwankwo Kanu and Emmanuel Adebayor go from the cauldron of top club competition into an equally demanding round of qualifiers for the 2010 finals in South Africa.
Manchester United has another English title and Cristiano Ronaldo. Chelsea has a huge, talented squad and the wealth of owner Roman Abramovich. There is no underdog in this Champions League final as two English clubs make history by going head to head in Moscow.
Didier Drogba sent Chelsea to their first Champions League final and got revenge on Rafa Benitez as his double strike clinched a 3-2 win against Liverpool in Wednesday’s semifinal second leg. Drogba had given Chelsea the lead in the first half at Stamford Bridge before Fernando Torres sent the tie into extra-time.
Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 in a dramatic match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to pull level at the top of the Premier League and keep alive their hopes of snatching the title from United’s grasp. Michael Ballack was Chelsea’s scoring hero, deciding the game with an 86th-minute penalty after heading the home side ahead at the end of the first half.
The latest chapter in Liverpool and Chelsea’s seemingly never-ending European saga will be written on Tuesday when hostilities resume in the Champions League for the fourth successive season. Including domestic matches, it will be the 19th time the two clubs have faced each other in the last four seasons.
Chelsea boss Avram Grant refused to concede defeat to Manchester United in the English Premier League title race, insisting his players still believed they could win it. He admitted the Blues simply had to win Thursday’s clash at fifth-placed Everton, otherwise United could seal the title.
Arsenal and Liverpool fought out a pulsating 1-1 draw while Fenerbahce came from behind for a 2-1 home win over Chelsea in Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal, first-leg matches. Liverpool soaked up intense second-half pressure from Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium to earn the away-goal edge for Tuesday’s return leg at Anfield in their all-English clash.
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/ 15 February 2008
First things first: the best team won. Many, including myself, dismissed Egypt’s chances of defending their crown because of a ropey qualifying campaign and because they lost a number of important players from their 2006 squad. But the Pharaohs showed that their domestic league continues to cultivate quality footballers.
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/ 10 February 2008
Hosts Ghana scored three times in the last 20 minutes to beat Côte d’Ivoire 4-2 to finish third in the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday. Boubacar Sanogo, making his first start of the tournament, scored twice in nine minutes to give Côte d’Ivoire a 2-1 half-time lead.
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/ 7 February 2008
Cameroon are only one step away from a record-equalling fifth Africa Nations Cup title after wrecking Ghana’s party with a 1-0 semifinal win over the hosts in Accra on Thursday. The winners in 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002 came through a tense affair with Alain Nkong’s second-half strike breaking the gridlock.
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/ 7 February 2008
Hosts Ghana kick off a high-calibre Africa Cup of Nations semifinal programme when they take on Cameroon at Accra’s Ohene Djan stadium on Thursday at 5pm GMT. The Black Stars will have to make do without suspended captain John Mensah, banned for one match after being sent off in Ghana’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Nigeria.
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/ 3 February 2008
Junior Agogo scored a late goal on Sunday to lead 10-man Ghana over Nigeria 2-1 and into the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals. Agogo met Sulley Muntari’s cross from the left and sent the ball into the roof of the net in the 83rd minute to send the Black Stars into a showdown with either Cameroon or Tunisia on Thursday.
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/ 2 February 2008
Mali and Sevilla forward Frederic Kanoute was named Africa Player of 2007 on Friday, beating Chelsea clubmates Michael Essien and Didier Drogba to become the first European-born player to earn the honour. Nigeria’s Cynthia Uwak was chosen as the best women’s player ahead of South Africa’s Modise Portia.
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/ 29 January 2008
Hosts Ghana beat Morocco 2-0 to reach the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals on Monday as the tournament claimed its first coaching victim with Henryk Kasperczak quitting Senegal. Guinea also went into the last eight, following Ghana through from Group A despite managing only a 1-1 draw against rank outsiders Namibia.
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/ 25 January 2008
Guinea brought more drama to the Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday with a shock 3-2 win over Morocco while hosts Ghana struggled to beat rank outsiders Namibia 1-0. Pascal Feindouno scored twice for Guinea before being sent off for stamping on an opponent in a bad-tempered match.
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/ 20 January 2008
Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari struck in the last minute to lift hosts Ghana to a 2-1 win against Guinea in the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations in Accra on Sunday. Ghana’s Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, given the fair-play award, said: ”It’s a good start for us.”
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/ 20 January 2008
Downtown Accra is decorated with ”Go Ghana” banners as this lively city of nearly three million people prepares for the start of the continent’s most storied soccer tournament. A million visitors are expected in the West African state for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on Sunday with a sold-out opener between the host nation and Guinea.
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/ 18 January 2008
There has been much debate about whether the African Cup of Nations should be held at the end of the European season so that there is not a club-versus-country clash. Two football experts discuss the pros and cons. The continental showpiece kicks off in Ghana on Sunday.
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/ 11 January 2008
It is breakfast time in the slums of Jamestown, outside the Ghanaian capital, Accra. From within corrugated tin shacks and under slum tarpaulins comes the metallic clatter of early morning chores and the promise of plantains and hot milk. Defying their mothers, the local children are already on the beach playing football.
Premier League clubs are waiting for Tuesday’s opening of the month-long January transfer window, some seeking to tweak their squad as they press for the title and others hoping to add players in the fight to stay in England’s most lucrative competition.
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/ 30 December 2007
Arsenal reclaimed first place in the Premier League as Arsene Wenger’s side routed Everton 4-1 to take advantage of Manchester United’s surprise 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday. The Gunners moved two points clear of United thanks to Eduardo’s double strike and late goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and Tomas Rosicky.
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/ 28 October 2007
Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez fired Manchester United back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday, as Chelsea served warning that their own title challenge is still alive after the departure of Jose Mourinho. United’s 4-1 demolition of Middlesbrough at Old Trafford continued a rich vein of form for the champions, who have won eight consecutive matches in the league.
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/ 20 October 2007
Coach Claude le Roy is convinced hosts Ghana will reach the 2008 African Nations Cup quarterfinals after being drawn in Group A with Guinea, Morocco and Namibia. ”I realise expectations are high among Ghanaians and we will surely go through to the knockout phase,” the widely travelled Frenchman told local journalists.
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/ 3 September 2007
Jose Mourinho must be developing an intense hatred for visits to Villa Park after Martin O’Neill condemned Chelsea to yet another dose of Midlands misery. Debutant Zat Knight and Gabriel Agbonlahor both scored in the second half to leave Mourinho still waiting for his first Premier League victory at this particular corner of the West Midlands.