Milo demands Ghana win

Milovan "Milo" Rajevac yesterday enjoyed a good training session with his squad for Wednesday’s international friendly against Tunisia in Accra but reminded his team that he intends going for a win against the Carthage Eagles and nothing else.

The Black Stars haven’t fared too well in recent friendly ties, a situation which has culminated in the team’s drop on the Fifa ranking table to 26 for this month from an enviable all-time best of 14 in February 2008.

Despite the Wednesday evening game being a preparatory one for the qualifying rounds of the 2010 World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations, Rajevac is intent on winning every match to swell Ghana’s point build-up.

"Tunisia is an excellent side and they will give us a good test," Milovan Rajevac said after training yesterday in anticipation of a tough game.

The match is one of the planned games to prepare the Black Stars for next year’s 2010 World Cup and CAF Nations Cup qualifying series.

First team regulars John Mensah, Laryea Kingston, Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari are all unavailable but uncapped players Samuel Yeboah, Samuel Kyere and Jonathan Mensah all earned call ups into the Black Stars.

And Rajevac expects his team to turn up on the night against the Carthage Eagles as he says his squad selection is to help him find quality substitutes before Ghana begins the 2010 qualifiers against Benin on March 28.

"This is a friendly game, but I expect the players to give off their best," he said.

Milovan Rajevac's clarion call for a win is shared by his captain, Stephen Appiah.

Appiah says a win against Tunisia would to boost confidence in the side ahead of the resumption of 2010 World Cup qualifiers and also shoot up the Black Stars in the Fifa world ranking.

“It may be just a friendly match but it will be an important one,” he said.

“We need a win because it will be important for not just our confidence but our rankings in FIFA too.”