The clash between Africa XI and World XI turned out to be a spectacular event, creating a festive atmosphere in Ghana with notable football personalities in attendance. Among the attendees were Emmanuel Adebayor, Djibril Cissé, Emmanuel Eboué, Mickael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Jay Jay Okocha, and Ricardo Carvalho.
Held at the national stadium in Accra, the match was part of the second edition of the Game of Hope, a charitable event sponsored by Real Madrid midfielder Michael Essien to support families in need and orphans. The first edition took place in May 2011.
In front of a lively crowd and broadcasted live on national television, the teams, led by Michael Essien for Africa XI and Michael Ballack for World XI, put on an engaging performance. The Ayew brothers shone from the start, earning applause from the spectators. After 21 minutes, Essien opened the scoring following a move by Adebayor.
Djibril Cissé equalized for World XI, but George Boateng restored Africa XI’s lead to 2-1. In the second half, a tactical change saw Essien being replaced by Emmanuel Okocha, leading to a successful fourth goal scored by Haminu Dramani.
The match ended with a 4-1 victory for Africa XI, much to the delight of Michael Essien. He expressed his happiness, stating, “I’m really, really happy. Everything went well. We won this match and demonstrated that our seniors still had talent, and that the young people are on the right path.”
Mickael Ballack, captain of World XI, took the defeat in good spirits, jokingly saying, “They killed us. We couldn’t do anything. But we had fun, and that’s the main thing. See you at the third edition for the revenge.”
The starting lineups for both teams were as follows:
World XI: Blackman – M Chimbonda, VanHouoet, Carvalho, Lockwood, Jamie Larence, Morris, Michael Ballack (c), Malouda, Lomana Lualua, Djibril Cissé
Africa XI: Kingson – Eboué, John Mensah, Osei Kuffuour, Paintsil – Kwame Ayew, George Boateng, Essien (c), Stephen Appiah, Okocha, Adebayor
