There are reports in South Africa that Michael Essien and Michael Ballack have sneaked into town and would both be attending this evening's highly anticipated Group D contest. The Black Stars graced into Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon and plunged into training at Soccer City under floodlights a few hours later. Certainly,the cold winter conditions would favour the Europeans. Football experts at the 2010 World Cup have already made up their minds and are unanimous in their conclusion that Germany will beat Ghana to restore some order back to this tournament. Only the Black Stars and Ghanaians would dispute this school of thought. In order to make nonsense of the one sided judgement,the West Africans must confront and conquer the fear of losing and instead ride on the weight of expectation as the ''last'' genuine African hope in this tournament. The players know they only need a point against Germany today. Yet, if they play to win and believe in themselves as they did against Serbia, and indeed as the 2006 team did against the Czech Republic and USA,then qualification to the round of 16 is assured. But,if the usual cagey,defensive and over cautious approach of coach Milovan Rajevac is adopted, it could be a long and nervy 90 minutes for Ghanaians around the world. No doubt there would be enormous pressure on Milo and his boys according to the pundits and this would favour the Germans. What pressure? Nigeria out,Cameroon out, South Africa out, Ivory Coast on the verge of elimination and Algeria seeking to beat USA whilst hoping results else where would go in their favour. This is motivation and not pressure. Rajevac can only plot and map out the best strategy for his troops to execute on the field of play but he cannot stop the ball from entering Ghana's net or put the ball into the German net. The destiny of their world cup campaign is firmly in their hands and not just the coach. There will be battles in every position on the pitch and there would be demons to exorcise by one player in particular.....Kevin Prince Boateng. The man whose foul put Germany captain Michael Ballack out of the World Cup in May. Prince Boateng was born and raised in Berlin but represents Ghana by proud choice. My one and only attempt so far at getting an interview with Prince Boateng was met with a stern but surprisingly polite ''I don't talk before a match'' I presumed that meant after the Germany match so i will wait. The midfielder claims his family have been turned into public enemy number one in Germany since the Ballack incident. Yet how ironic as Boateng could line up against his half-brother Jerome, who was a surprise inclusion in Joachim Low’s final squad. On the pitch atleast the brothers may be forced to be ''enemies'' for 90 minutes. It is a historic and potentially gripping prospect. The reality for the Black Stars is that they are in a more tricky position than the placings in Group D suggests. If the over reliance on Asamoah's Gyan's one goal project and penalty luck continues, it could be a long night at Soccer City and it may not be pretty. Nothing must be taken for granted and nothing is gaurantedd. Will John Mensah start, will Vorsah be declared fit, will Amoah get the nod ahead of Prince Tagoe and will Muntari sensationally be called upon to ''fight'' as he knows best in encounters like these? There was a big hint by Rajevac about how he will likely approach the game tonight. “We know what Germany are about but Germany lost against Serbia so anything is possible,” said Rajevac. “If the result against Germany is 0-0 I would be more than happy.” In other words do not expect anything different from what we have seen so far from the Black Stars. If this is the plan, then more than at any time in Ghana's football history, God help the Black Stars! Credit: Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, South Africa