They did not manage to score against Italy's Gianluigi Buffon but Ghana captain Stephen Appiah tells FIFAworldcup.com that the Black Stars will find their range against Petr Cech and the Czech Republic in their second Group E game on Saturday.

Fresh from Ghana's final workout in Cologne before the all-important match, Appiah appeared in relaxed mood.

“We've been practising our shooting," said the 25-year-old with a knowing look when asked how they can get past Michael Essien's Chelsea team-mate, Cech.

"I'm not saying Essien has given us any tips but it's something we needed to do anyway after the Italy match."

The Africans went down 2-0 in their opening match at a FIFA World Cup but played their part in an entertaining contest, firing in a succession of shots from distance which Buffon largely dealt with comfortably.

"It's true we had a lot of shots against Italy from far out so if that's the case against Czech Republic then we want to be more accurate,” added Ghana’s No.10.

“Though a defence-splitting pass is not that easy against Italy, it’s also up to our forwards to move about and make the runs to pull the back four apart.”

Captaining his country on their competition debut against Italy - the country where Appiah spent a number of years playing for Parma, Brescia and Juventus before his move to Fenerbahce in Turkey - was always going to be an emotional occasion for the midfielder.

“We are a country with a population of around 20 million so for me to be out there facing some old friends as skipper was truly a fantastic experience,” he said, breaking into a smile.

“In the match we were a bit innocent and lost possession in crucial areas. We now have to learn from our mistakes in order to qualify.”

Taking the strain

Coach Ratomir Dujkovic surprised many by carrying out the first training session after Monday night's defeat without a ball, focusing exclusively on physical work.

Appiah, though, says the spirit within the camp is good.
“Of course we were all sad after the match but that’s normal,” he added.

“You can’t expect to be happy after losing. That’s passed now and we’ve recovered our strength of mind and are clearly focused on the next match.”

The meeting against Czech Republic brings another reunion from his Italian days for Appiah.

“I haven’t seen Pavel (Nedved) for a long time and it will be great to meet up,” he said, his face lighting up again.

“He was a good friend but as a player I know he is difficult to stop. He moves all over the field and never rests in any one position.”

Impressed by the Czechs' performance in the 3-0 win against the United States, the Ghanaian admits the Czechs are far from being a one-man team.

“They have a strong defence and have been a very good side for a while now, but we have studied the way the Czechs play and we aim to hold them strongly at the start before showing our own game.

“We know all about their midfield with Nedved, (Karel) Poborsky and (Tomas) Rosicky who are all technically gifted and intelligent players but I think ours has no less quality. Sure, it’s just our luck to come up against two of the world’s top goalkeepers in our first two games but at the World Cup you have to beat the best.”