WUERZBURG (Germany): Ghana is not afraid to play Italy or its other Group E opponents at the World Cup after receiving a boost from the return of midfielder Michael Essien.

The west Africans, making their first World Cup appearance in Germany, were buoyed by Sunday's 3-1 warmup victory over South Korea.

``This is the first time we've had a full squad in seven months,'' team coordinator Anthony Baffoe said Monday. ``It was a vital test before the encounter against Italy.

``We are prepared and we are not scared. We're looking forward to our first match.''

Ghana plays Italy in its opening match on June 12. The team then faces the Czech Republic and the United States in Group E.

All three scorers in Sunday's friendly had been absent when Ghana was eliminated from the first round of the African Cup of Nations earlier this year — a failure that threw the team into months of gloom.

Since its World Cup roster was announced last month, Ghana drew 1-1 with Turkey and easily defeated Jamaica 4-1, the goals in both matches provided by Amoah, Muntari and Appiah. — AP

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