The Portsmouth midfielder became public enemy number one in Germany, the country of his birth, last month after his tackle on Germany captain Michael Ballack in the FA Cup final ruled the Chelsea man out of the World Cup.

The Group D match at Soccer City also throws up the possibility of Boateng coming up against his half-brother Jerome, a Germany international who has reportedly broken off contact with Kevin-Prince over the Ballack incident.

However, Black Stars boss Rajevac believes his player has the fortitude to come through what could be a trying evening, with a place in the last 16 at stake for both sides.

The Serbian said: "We have talked about this, the media created this problem. Even if there had been a problem it lies behind us. Kevin-Prince Boateng will do his best, he will focus, he will not be provoked, he is a professional. They may be brothers off the pitch but on the pitch they are not brothers.

"He will do his best and play without any pressure and play his normal game in order to reach a good result."

Ghana lead Group D by a point from Germany but need to win to make sure of a place in the last 16, and Rajevac expects his team to be well supported by their own fans and also by neutral South Africans keen to see at least one side from the continent make it into the knockout phase.

He said: "Of course we are playing in South Africa and we are the only African team with a realistic chance of the last 16 so that will give us extra motivation to play an excellent game against Germany. This is the only way to win against very good players."

Rajevac refused to comment on a row with Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari, who was disciplined by the Ghana Football Association after an angry exchange of words with the coach but was allowed to remain part of the squad.

The coach expected Germany to adapt their game to reflect the fact that striker Miroslav Klose is banned, with Cacau set to come in for Joachim Low's side.

"I think the ejection (and suspension) of Klose will have an impact on the tactics of the German team," he said.

"They are an excellent team, a strong football power and we are sure they will play at an excellent pace up to the last minute. They don't have a weakness, but maybe they could have a psychological problem because it's a 'final' game for Germany, they have to win.

"I will have to see how this will be reflected on the pitch, but Germany are one of the best teams worldwide."

Rajevac insisted he had had no contact with or assistance from Serbia coach Radomir Antic after the latter had beaten Germany 1-0, a result which Rajevac claimed had "complicated" the group.

"We didn't have contact during the last few days and I haven't asked for help," Rajevac said.

"We are on our own and we will focus on our own. They look upon us as an opponent and we both want to get to the next round,

"We are fighting for our place in the next round and every team has their own aspirations."

Rajevac expects to be able to select from all 23 players in his squad.