Group D: Ghana v Australia preview

Ghana hope to clinch their passage to the World Cup second round with a decisive Group D triumph over Australia.

The Black Stars have an excellent chance to be Africa's most successful side here and could at least emulate Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) in reaching the quarter-finals.

But they must first overcome an Australia team stung by a 4-0 thrashing by Germany and missing talismanic attacking midfielder Tim Cahill, suspended after being sent off.

Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac has warned against complacency. "For Australia, this is the last chance," he said. "They are a very competitive nation and I am sure they will fight. Their performance against Germany did not show the real picture."

Rajevac is likely to pick an unchanged side, though he may consider giving captain Stephen Appiah a start in a team moulded from two outstanding generations of Ghanaian players.

Australia's Dutch coach Pim Verbeek has had to fight fires and rebuild morale this week. He may bring in Harry Kewell, who has recovered from a long-term injury, to replace Cahill and may also select Mark Bresciano and Josh Kennedy, who are also fit.