Michael Essien was widely tipped to be one of Africa's next rising stars. Essien made his competitive senior debut in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations against Morocco on 21 January 2002. but had played for Ghana in a pre-tournament friendly against Egypt on 4 January 2002. On 16 May 2006, Essien was selected to be part of the team that represented Ghana at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He played in midfield with team captain Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari. Essien played in Ghana's 0–2 defeat to Italy, their 2–0 victory over the Czech Republic, and the 2–1 victory
Michael Mokongo Michael Mokongo Michael Benoît Mokongo (born July 11, 1986) is a Central African-French professional basketball player who last played for AS Monaco Basket of the LNB Pro B in France. Mokongo first represented the Central African Republic internationally at the 2009 AfroBasket qualifying tournament. He played for the country at the 2011 AfroBasket, averaging 11 points and a team-high 6 assists. Mokongo has also competed for France in the past, playing for them in the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. He was initially expected to play for the Central African Republic at the AfroBasket 2015 under head coach Aubin-Thierry Goporo,