Muntari wants to state his case

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Sulley Muntari has vowed to give everything he has to make all of Africa proud of him as Ghana aim to make FIFA World Cup™ history against Uruguay.

With Michael Essien missing the tournament through injury, Muntari had been expected to be one of the west African country's leaders in South Africa.

Instead, the 25-year-old has yet to start a match in the tournament and it was said he came close to being sent home after rumours of a dressing-room bust-up with the Black Stars' Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac.

Now though, with Andre Ayew suspended, Muntari is in line to finally get on the starting sheet for Friday's quarter-final at Johannesburg's Soccer City.

Victory would make Ghana the first from the continent to reach a World Cup semi-final, surpassing previous quarter-finalists Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002).

And the Inter-Milan midfielder insists he is playing his part. "We are on a fantastic adventure and we want to keep going to make all of Africa happy," Muntari said at Ghana's training camp on the outskirts of Sun City in northwestern South Africa. "On a personal level I want to leave all the negative stuff behind me."

For me, the most important thing is the group. I give it all my support and that's it.

Sulley Muntari, Ghana midfielder

Muntari claimed reports of his clash with Rajevac had been exaggerated and he insisted that he had never objected to being left on the sidelines as Rajevac opted to start with French-based star Ayew, the son of Ghana legend Abedi Pele.

"It depends on the coach," Muntari added. "The coach has to decide who will play. For me, the most important thing is the group. I give it all my support and that's it."

"Before the World Cup started I got injured. The manager spoke to me about it. He was concerned, he wanted me to heal well. He decides everything. He said I should be careful. I should take it easy."

Muntari vowed to never play for his country again after being sent home from the 2004 Olympics for allegedly being a bad influence. After patching things up, he clashed with Ghana's football hierarchy again last November when he refused to play in a friendly against Angola.

That led to him being left out of the squad for the African Nations Cup two months later. A depleted Ghana squad finished runners-up behind Egypt and Ayew took his opportunity well enough to earn a place in Rajevac's first-choice line-up.