France, June 18 -- "Ghana are going to win," he beamed cheekily as he went in to join his Ghana flag-draped mate Dennis Amoabeng.

Within a minute or two, the Ghana-supporting duo were back outside dynamically sharing hugs with their new best enemies and taking a few knocks about their own team.

Feeding off the brunchtime bonhomie, another cafe-goer insisted on snapping pictures of the smiling six who had gathered in the Canadian city for the World Cup Group L opener between Panama and Ghana.

"I've been watching football for years," said Safo who had taken time out from his studies in business administration to travel from his home in Montreal with Amoabeng for the tie.

"Normally I watch it on TV but I couldn't pass up a chance to come...