Ghana and Dujkovic bow out with heads high

DORTMUND, June 27: Ghana's Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic said his team had nothing to be ashamed of after a 3-0 defeat to world champions Brazil eliminated the only African nation to reach the last 16 of the World Cup.

''I am very satisfied with the way we performed throughout the tournament and absolutely proud of reaching the second round,'' Dujkovic told Reuters after the match.

''I've been told our success has strirred up mass euphoria in Ghana and I really hope that FIFA look at it as a springboard to invest more funds into the game in Africa, a continent abundant with natural talent,'' he said.

Dujkovic, who was banished from the touchline at the end of the first half for a spat with Slovak referee Michel Lubos after Brazil's second goal, believed his team was unlucky.

''The score doesn't reflect the course of the match because we enjoyed more possession than Brazil and created more good chances, bit it does show the difference in quality.

''They have world class players who need half a chance to score while my team has to carve out a hatful of chances to find the back of the net.'' Dujkovic said he would discuss his future with Ghanaian soccer bosses when his contract expires at the end of the year.

''We will sit down to see where will go from there, what I can say now is that the soccer association is impressed with how we responded to the challenge of playing in the World Cup.''

Reuters

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