Relaxed Black Stars on song ahead of Uruguay showdown

The eyes of an entire continent are on Ghana as Africa’s last hope at the World Cup but the premise of being under pressure didn’t seem to exist for the Black Stars as they trained at the unprepossessing Mogwase Stadium near Rustenburg last night.

Watching Ghana prepare for a quarter-final against Uruguay on Friday – only the third African side to reach the last eight after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002 – couldn’t be a more different experience to following England just 30 minutes up the road in the days before Fabio Capello’s side were sent home by Germany.

A solitary security guard at the end of a dirt track was the only welcoming party as journalists and one or two fans watched the team train for two hours.