Rajevac rates Ivorians as favourites

Rajevac says Ivory Coast are tough

Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac says their group opponents Ivory Coast are the favourites to win Group B of next year's African Cup of Nations.

  The Black Stars were drawn in the 'Group of Death' that also includes 2006 World Cup finalists Togo and Burkina Faso after the draw on Friday.

Ghana will based in the Angolan city of Cabinda for the tournament which starts on 10 January

Even though Ghana look to have been handed a tough group, the Serbian manager says all the countries will

“Every group is a tough one. There are no easy groups for this competition,” Rajevac said.

“Every side that tried to qualify has quality and can cause an upset. It's too easy to start talking now.

“On paper, Ivory Coast are the favourites from our group and they indeed have a strong team. But there won't be any easy match at the Nations Cup."

With no international free dates for planning friendlies before the tournament in Angola starts on 10 January, Rajevac says monitoring their best players in Europe is their best option to prepare.

“Our preparations have been on-going. But now, we can really focus on our opponents," the Serbian coach said.

“We would be looking at out group members closely and analyzing.

"Also, we have to continue monitoring our players and make good preparations.”

Ghana beat Cote d'Ivoire 4-2 the last time the two sides met at the African Cup of Nations in 2008.

The 16 countries at the tournament were divided into four groups from which the winners and runners-up advance to second round of the tournament.