Muntari and Appiah are no slouches in midfield, but I'd have to agree with you based on the group they're in. It would take all three at their best to make it out of the group stage. Looks like Ivory Coast will be the lone Africans in the knockout rounds now.
I see where you're coming with Ivory coast, but..... I think that Cameroon and Nigeria have a better chance of getting out based on their groups... Portugal as a 2nd team is much more formidable than Greece, South Korea, Denmark and Japan
No doubt Appiah and Muntari are good players but you can't take away the talent and organization that Essien brings to the team. He will be sorely missed.