Ghanaian VP inspires Black Stars ahead of World Cup opening match

ACCRA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia on Wednesday inspired Ghana's national team Black Stars ahead of its opening match against Portugal.

In a video that has gone viral online, the vice president urged the Ghanaians to rally behind the Black Stars as they play their first game of this year's World Cup on Thursday.

Bawumia said: "The moment has come for the Black Stars to take on the world. We have a group of talented players who have been selected, and they cannot be intimidated by anyone. I want to urge the Black Stars to play their hearts out for mother Ghana."

"We can stun the world. We have done it before, and we can do it again. They should go out and emulate the historic deeds of their predecessors," he added.

Ghana captain Andre Dede Ayew, who has already made two World Cup appearances for his country in 2010 and 2014, has assured his countrymen the team will make them proud.

"On behalf of my teammates, I'd like to express our appreciation to Ghanaians for the various forms of motivation and support. We hope to make them happy and proud in this tournament," Ayew said Wednesday from the team's camp in Qatar.

As part of preparations ahead of the World Cup, the Ghana Football Association organized three friendly matches to assess the team's readiness.

The Black Stars lost 3-0 to former world champions Brazil but beat Nicaragua and Switzerland by 1-0 and 2-0 respectively.

Ghana is making her fourth appearance at the World Cup and is placed in Group H alongside Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.