Eq. Guinea faces cup favorite ICoast in quarters

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) -Equatorial Guinea has completed its final training session before the biggest match in the nation's footballing history against tournament favorite Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations quarterfinal on Saturday.

Ivory Coast, Africa's top-ranked national side, boasts some of the world's top players in Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Gervinho.

In contrast, co-host Equatorial Guinea has a squad of journeymen drawn from the lower leagues in Spain, the Brazilian regional league, Turkey and Oman.

Despite the mismatch on paper, defender Rui Da Gracia says Equatorial Guinea has "nothing to lose'' and is "looking forward'' to the challenge of facing Ivory Coast's highly paid cast of Europe-based stars.