World Cup 2010- Rajevac: Ghana can cope with pressure

Published on: 30 June 2010

Coach Milovan Rajevac is confident Ghana can deal with the pressure of attempting to become the first African side to reach the Fifa  World Cup semi-finals.

Ghana takes on Uruguay in Johannesburg on Saturday after overcoming the United States in its last-16 match.

It is the only African country left in the tournament and Rajevac feels his young crop of players are growing in belief and confidence.

He said: "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.

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

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

"We have a lot of new players but they are all growing in confidence and they are all doing their best.

"The unity of the team is the most important quality we have. 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."

Rajevac insists Ghana will not alter its style to combat the threat of Diego Forlan, who has been in sparkling form for Uruguay.

He said: "Uruguay have been very impressive. They are a South American nation with players playing in the best leagues in Europe.

"They have to be one of the best teams in the world. They deserve every respect and Forlan is a fine player.

"But we will play the way that has brought us success so far. We are not going to adjust our style and we will try to use whatever weakness we can find in our opponents.

"What is very important is to be able to change your system as the match demands.

"The team that is able to manage that in the match, it is better for that team. You cannot play the whole match with just one system."

Rajevac is full of pride for what he has achieved during the past couple of years with Ghana.

He said: "When I came to Ghana it took a lot of hard work and now, after all this hard work, you can see the results today.

"I am very proud of everything we have done in the last two years."

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