Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah has thanked President J.A Kufour and the people of Ghana for the national honour bestowed on players who represented the nation at the World Cup.

President Kufuor on Monday conferred the second highest national award, the Order of the Volta on players and officials of the senior national team at the seat of Ghana's presidency, the Castle in Accra.

Appiah, who qualified Ghana for her maiden World Cup led the Black Stars to the tournament's second round.

The Black Stars faltered in their opening group game, losing 2-0 to Italy but rallied back to beat the Czech Republic 2-0 and the USA 2-1 to earn a place in the second round.

The impressive run was stopped by former champions, Brazil who eliminated Ghana from the tournament after beating the Black Stars 3-0.

Following Ghana’s impressive World Cup debut, there seems to be a feeling renewed sense of patriotism in the country.

And the Stars captain, Stephen Appiah is urging the entire country to sustain the newfound unity and peace.

"Thank you to all Ghanaians for this honour.

"We did not only represent Ghana but did for the whole Africa.

"We want to say it's brought unity to us all.

"Let's keep the spirit alive," Appiah said.