Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah anticipates some surprises after Ghana were drawn against Germany, Portugal and the U.S in the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Ghana at the last World Cup finals in South Africa clashed with both Germany and the U.S at the group stage and will go head-to-head again in Group G at the finals in Brazil.

Appiah knows a thing or two about World Cup, having experienced one during his role as an assistant coach in the previous tournament.

Though the Black Stars face a tough task to advance past the group stage, Appiah insist his side are much better than the last time.

"It's nice to meet Germany, and also USA who we beat in Round of 16 in 2010. We are a better team than in 2010 and I'm sure there will be a lot of surprises in this group," the Ghana coach said after the draw on Friday in Brazil.

"Once you are prepared to go to the World Cup, you must be prepared to face any team that comes your way.

"If you want to win the World Cup, you need to beat all the teams in your group.

"Portugal has a very strong side as well [but] the most important is that we need to prepare very well so that we will be able to face any team that comes our way. It's not going to be easy but we need to make sure that if we want to go to the next round we need to make sure that we beat them."

Ghana will open their World Cup group campaign against the United States on June 16.

After the opening match in Natal with the Americans, Kwesi Appiah's team will take on the Germans in Fortaleza on June 21.

Ghana will conclude the group action on June 26 in Brasilia against the Portuguese.