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Germany 2-1 Ghana: Initial Observations and Reactions

· Yahoo Sports

LUDWIGSBURG, GERMANY - MARCH 30: Deniz Undav of Germany scores his team's second goal past Benjamin Asare of Ghana (not pictured) during the international friendly match between Germany and Ghana at MHP Arena on March 30, 2026 in Ludwigsburg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Fulltime Observations

  • Lennart Karl has shown enough to earn a spot as a rotational player on the World Cup roster. If he can play 20-30 minutes each match, that will be the best use of his current skill set to boost Germany’s attack late in matches.
  • It would have been better to see Alexander Nübel deal with some challenging situations. He played the role of scarecrow for most of the match and genuinely had no chance on Ghana’s goal.
  • Germany has a severe lack of useful depth at nearly every position. This is likely a rotation of only 14-16 players in the World Cup.
  • Josha Vagnoman was a key member of Germany’s U21 squad that won the 2021 European Championship, but he has no business being on this roster over a player like Tom Bischof.
  • It was the correct decision to give second half minutes to the bottom of the roster, especially all of the Stuttgart players in front of their hometown fans. Bayern’s players cemented their spots and avoided injury.

The German national will reconvene in late May for the pre-tournament camp in Winston-Salem, North Carolina ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That means the next two months will be solely focused on Bayern Munich’s treble run, starting this weekend with a road match against Freiburg ahead of the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid.

FT: Germany wins!

90’+3: Substitutions. Christopher Baah and Kamaldeen Sulemana replace Derrick Köhn and Caleb Yirenkyi.

88’:GOOOAAALLL! Germany up 2-1. Leon Goretzka to Leroy Sané to Deniz Undav for a clever finish at close range.

78’: Substitution. Leroy Sané replaces Nick Woltemade.

72’: Yellow card. Nico Schlotterbeck is booked for a hard foul on Caleb Yirenkyi.

70’: Goal, Ghana. Germany tied 1-1. Germany’s defense gets caught ball watching as Abdul Fatawu Issahaku hits the one-timer.

66’: Substitution. Abdul Fatawu Issahaku replaces Prince Adu.

65’: Yellow card. Elisha Owusu is booked for a foul on Nico Schlotterbeck.

61’: Substitutions. David Raum, Josha Vagnoman, Leon Goretzka, and Chris Führich replace Nathaniel Brown, Angelo Stiller, Pascal Groß, and Florian Wirtz.

59’: Yellow card. Prince Adu is booked.

56’: Substitution. Derrick Luckassen replaces an injured Kojo Oppong.

53’: Nick Woltemade’s header clangs off the crossbar. Perfect chip across from Lennart Karl.

46’: Substitutions. Antonio Rüdiger, Lennart Karl, and Deniz Undav replace Jonathan Tah, Serge Gnabry, and Kai Havertz. Elisha Owusu replaces Kwasi Sibo.

Halftime Observations

  • Nathaniel Brown’s speed will probably not earn him a starting spot over David Raum’s experience this year, but Brown has shown a lot of promise. He is positionally sound on his advanced runs and sends in a dangerous cross. Not to mention his impressive defending in 1v1 scenarios.
  • I’m all for experimenting and tinkering in friendlies but moving Kai Havertz outside as a winger is a major slap in the face to any player who barely misses the cut for this World Cup roster. Havertz lacks versatility, pace, and effort on either end of the pitch. Nagelsmann even mentioned that a slower, possession-based game was a better fit for Deniz Undav then left him on the bench.
  • Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo looks smooth and dangerous every time he touches the ball.
  • Germany sent a lot of players into the box on free kicks, allowing Ghana to counter vertically. Germany’s defenders proved up to the task so far but were often left on an island.

HT: Germany up 1-0 at the break.

45’+3:GOOOAAALLL! Germany up 1-0. VAR determines Angelo Stiller’s shot was blocked illegally. Kai Havertz steps up to the penalty spot and sends the keeper the wrong way.

33’: Nick Woltemade lays off a ball to Florian Wirtz for the opening goal but Woltemade is ruled narrowly offside.

6’: Florian Wirtz’s free kick hits the near post.

5’: Yellow card. Kai Havertz is taken down by Jonas Adjei Adjetey. Adjetey is clearly the last defender and it was a reckless challenge. In a competitive match, that is likely a red card.

1’: LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Julian Nagelsmann has chosen to immediately punish the players who turned in uninspired performances in Friday’s 4-3 win over Switzerland. Leroy Sané, Leon Goretzka, David Raum, and Oliver Baumann have been replaced by Nick Woltemade, Pascal Groß, Nathaniel Brown, and Alexander Nübel.

Thanks to Florian Wirtz’s matching pair of goals and assists, Germany outlasted Switzerland in a dramatic 4-3 win during Friday’s friendly. Besides Joshua Kimmich’s bloodied face, Germany came away relatively unscathed. Julian Nagelsmann started the game with his preferred starting XI out of the available players but some of the substitutes, like Lennart Karl and Nick Woltemade, had standout performances.

After flying through CAF qualifying to earn a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ghana just received a harsh reality check in a 5-1 win loss to Austria. Manager Otto Addo will want to see a better showing from the Black Stars in the last international break before heading to their World Cup base camp in Rhode Island.

Prediction

Germany wins 4-0. Germany will focus on possession and controlling the pace to limit Ghana’s superior speed. Florian Wirtz will pick up where he left off last match, dropping a pair of elite assists to Nick Woltemade and Deniz Undav in the first half. In the second half, Lennart Karl will score his first international goal for Germany and Nico Schlotterbeck will score on a header from a set piece.

Match Info

Location: MHP Arena, Stuttgart, Germany

Date: Monday, March 30th, 2026

Time: 8:45pm local time (2:45pm EST)

TV/streaming: Fox Sports 1, ViX, Find Your Country

Odds: Germany (-550), Draw (+550), Ghana (+1100)

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