Defender Samuel Osei Kuffour has not been included in the Ghana squad that plays Senegal later today.

Kuffour has not fully recovered from the knock he suffered during the 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the opening game.

Kuffuor’s absence apart, it will be the same lineup paraded against the Super Eagles who play today.

Striker Joe Tex Frimpong comes into the starting lineup after starting the previous game from the bench.

Ghana needs a win against the Teranga Lions to preserve their nation’s cup place.

With the stakes so high, Coach Ratomir Dujkovic is confident his team will live up to the challenge and beat the Lions of Teranga.

“We are looking forward to try and beat Senegal and continue the competition,” Dujkovic said.

The Ghana coach believes the fast paced Senegalese game would be beneficial to the Black Stars.

“It’s better for Ghana because we can change our formation for this match. We expect victory because we played them last year in London in a friendly, now it’s different.

“It’s a competitive match. Our boys are confident, morale is very high and commitment is very good. They can win this match.”

Senegal who won the opening match 2-0 against Zimbabwe are confident of a win against the Black Stars.

Former African footballer of the year, El Hadji Diouf typifies the Senegalese spirit.

"I know this is a very, very hard game but everybody is ready to go and fight it," forward El Hadji Diouf told reporters as he prepared at the team's Ismailia base.

"Ghana are a big team and if you beat them it gives you a lot of confidence.

"If we win, we're going to the quarter-finals, if Ghana win, we're going to lose confidence. It's a big game."

Nigeria plays Zimbabwe in the other group D encounter.

However Black Stars midfielder, Laryea Kingston, says a first round exit at the African Nations Cup will have an adverse effect on the team's World Cup campaign in Germany.

The player, who is headed for Russian club locomotive Moscow after the CAN 2006, said the team is poised to ensure that they scale the first round hurdle successfully despite an opening day defeat to Nigeria.

Laryea has called for a morale boosting win and progress in today’s match to improve confidence ahead of the World Cup.”

Ghana needs a win in their second Group D clash with Senegal's Teranga Lions at the El Masry Stadium in Port Said to stand any chance of qualifying to the next round of the tournament.

Ghana line-up: Sammy Adjei, Emmanuel Pappoe, John Paintsil, John Mensah, Issa Ahmed, Yakubu Abubakari, Laryea Kingston, Stephen Appiah, Matthew Amoah, Joe Tex Frimpong, Haminu Dramani