Milovan Rajevac has put his faith in Ghana's youthful side to edge past Ivory Coast in their opening African Nations Cup game.

Both sides will line up for the crucial Group B match on Friday at Cabinda’s Chiazi Stadium.

Ghana have yet to play a game after their opening match against Togo was cancelled following their departure from Angola after the deadly attack on their team bus.

Despite the absence of some experienced players, Rajevac who included in his squad eight youngsters who won the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt in October remains upbeat.

“We have a very young team and we are going to play an experienced team,” said Rajevac.

“It will be a young side out to prove themselves against Ivory Coast. It is going to be a very difficult game for us tomorrow but I promise we are going to beat Ivory Coast.”

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, a 19-year-old midfielder who was part of the Under-20 triumph is unperturbed with the situation.

“I don’t think there is pressure on us (the youngsters). We won the World Cup for Ghana so there is no pressure,” he said.

“We have players like Michael Essien, they will show us how to get confidence. Maybe I will have the opportunity to play but no matter how hard I want it, it depends on the coach.”

Badu would be counting on the invaluable experience of Essien but Rajevac will make a late decision on his midfielder.

Essien, who has recovered from a hamstring injury, only joined his team mates on Wednesday after bad weather delayed his arrival in Angola.

“Essien joined us yesterday so we will assess his form in today’s training to see if he will play tomorrow,” Rajevac told a news conference.