Ghana 'trying to relax' ahead of crucial tie

الخميس، 01 يوليه 2010 - 00:02

كتب : Hatem Maher

Ghana are burdened with the task of making Africa proud by reaching the World Cup semi finals but they are trying to relax to deal with the mounting pressure, coach Milovan Rajevac said.

The Black Stars are the last African team left in a tournament that featured the participation of a record six teams from the Dark Continent.

Hosts South Africa, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria and Ivory Coast have all failed to make it beyond the group stage.

Ghana will have a chance to make history and become the first African team to book a last-four berth when they face Uruguay on Friday.

"We are not thinking about the pressure. We played very well at the African Nations so we have already proved that we are a team that knows how to compete," Rajevac said.

"We will try to relax. You know it is good for us to be here. We are very happy with the whole situation."

Cameroon and Senegal reached the quarter finals of the 1990 and 2002 World Cups respectively.

Ghana have already emulated that feat in a convincing fashion, finishing second in Group D behind Germany before beating the United States 2-1 after extra time in the round of 16.

"We have no obligation but still we want to use this opportunity to do our best and to make history," Serbian tactician Rajevac added.

"We just take one match at a time and try to do our best. Of course, sometimes you feel a little pressure.

"This is the highest level there is but we just try to do our best every match. We give the maximum."

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