Asamoah Gyan was full of praise for Ghana following their 2-2 draw against Germany, which he said showed the "real Ghana".
Ghana fell to a 2-1 defeat against the U.S. in their opening game of the 2014 World Cup but bounced back well against a strong Germany team to show they have a chance of qualification from Group G.
The Black Stars fought back from a goal down to take the lead, and although they couldn't hold on for an unlikely victory in an open and entertaining game Gyan believes the result gives them confidence to take into their final group game against Portugal.
He told BBC Sport: "It was a great game and I would like to congratulate the team -- we believed in ourselves against a tough side. We had to respect Germany but we were close.
"We saw the real Ghana today. We were tactically perfect, we had to work hard because Germany are so good in possession. We didn't want to run around and waste energy.
"Now we have to go all out against Portugal in our last game. We have to focus and believe we can beat Portugal."
Ghana manager Kwesi Appiah was also happy with his side's performance, adding: "It was a great game. Germany are a big team. Our boys did well matching them. We had a lot of chances but we didn't take advantage of them.
"We fought until the end. It was unfortunate it ended this way but on the whole it was a very good game.
"I know Portugal are a very good team, the same as the U.S. [are a very good team] but we will wait and see how it goes [on Sunday]."
In his postmatch news conference Appiah took another opportunity to praise Ghana's display.
"Our boys did well. We created a lot of chances, but could not capitalise. We were really determined to fight to the end. On the whole, it was a very good game.
"It was a competitive game. Playing against Germany is always a difficult game. If you don't take your chances, you will always face problems. If you lose concentration, you will always pay for it.
"Germany are good with their set-pieces. They are very dangerous in the final third.
"There was no way we wanted to sit back today. I always say that the best way to defend is to attack. That was the strategy we adopted.
"Ghana has a strong mentality when it comes to football. I always had confidence in my players that they would fight back and get the win after conceding. Players with the right qualities on the pitch is the most important thing.
"If you look at the team, we have young and experience players. Most of these young players were brought into the team two years ago. We are trying to plan for the future and I think it's good for Ghana. It's good for the young ones to learn from the experienced players. Their confidence levels look great, but it's unfortunate that we could have proven more.
"Once you've lost the game, you don't expect people to praise you. In Ghana, we have 25 million coaches, so you should expect to be criticised. At the end of the day, the players performed better today than against the U.S."
Looking ahead to Ghana's clash with Portugal, Appiah admitted keeping Ronaldo quiet will be key to their chances.
"Ronaldo is the best player in the world and everyone recognises that. It's important that we don't allow him to have his own way in the game because he will always punish you. We will plan this after watching the rest of the games.
