VfB Stuttgart's Deniz Undav scored a late winner for Germany against Ghana. - © Alexander Hassenstein

bundesliga

Deniz Undav fires Germany to friendly win over Ghana

31.03.2026

Substitute Deniz Undav staked a claim for a place in Julian Nagelsmann's FIFA 2026 World Cup squad by scoring the winning goal in Germany's friendly with Ghana in Stuttgart.

Germany 2-1 Ghana
Goals: 1-0 Havertz (pen. 45'+2), 1-1 Fatawu 70' (assist: Köhn), 2-1 Undav 88' (assist: Karl)

After recording a 4-3 win in Switzerland last week, Germany dominated for long spells in the first half.

Former Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade went close to breaking the deadlock early on, before Bayern Munich defender Jonathan Tah sent a deflected effort over with 31 minutes gone.

Ex-Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz then had a goal ruled out for offside, but Germany weren’t to be denied.

Liverpool's Wirtz instigated a move that led to Kai Havertz having a shot blocked by the hand of a Ghana player. The Arsenal forward duly dispatched the resultant penalty to give the hosts a deserved half-time lead.

Germany captain Joshua Kimmich congratulates opening goalscorer Kai Havertz. - Alex Grimm

The second period was a more open affair, with Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck blocking a goal-bound effort from Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo and Woltemade heading against the woodwork.

As Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann continued to make changes, Ghana equalised in the 70th minute as Union Berlin’s Derrick Köhn set up substitute Abdul Fatawu for a confident finish from 12 yards.

Lennart Karl had the chance to mark his second senior international appearance with a late goal, but the Bayern teenager could only poke his finish wide under heavy pressure from the Ghana defence.

Moments later, Karl headed a ball into the box for Stuttgart talisman Undav to score from point-black range and send the MHP Arena into raptures.

Germany will play further friendlies against Finland (31 May) and the USA (6 June), before beginning their World Cup campaign against Curaçao in Houston, USA on 14 June.

Watch: Every Deniz Undav goal for Stuttgart in the 2025/26 Bundesliga

Every Undav goal this season26.01.2026

Recap the match action below!

2 - 1

(1 - 0)

Germany

FINAL

Ghana

Friendly
International International MHPArena, Stuttgart

Julian Nagelsmann on the win over Ghana

"I think the game went well from our point of view. For various reasons. If we play our game and are tactically disciplined, then we're really good. Just like in the first 25 minutes, we made the opponent run. They didn't have a single counter attack. Then it became more difficult because we got a bit impatient and played too freely. Sometimes we didn't have the ball security to play like that."

Full-time: Germany 2-1 Ghana

Germany snatch a late winner courtesy of Undav, having piled on the pressure in the closing stages. Having looked dangerous on the break in the first half, Ghana made Germany pay through Fatawu with 20 minutes to play, before the hosts regained control and eventually found the winner.

Full-time

90'

+ 2

Substitution

Kamaldeen Sulemana

Caleb Yirenkyi

90'

+ 2

Substitution

Christopher Bonsu Baah

Derrick Köhn

90'

Too central

Karl cuts inside from the right before bending a shot into the arms of Asare.

Surely the winner!

Karl heads the ball across goal to Undav, who controls before prodding home from point blank range to surely score the winning goal.

88'

Deniz Undav

GOAL!

2:1

85'

Golden chance!

Goretzka squeezes a pass through to Karl inside the box, who then pokes his finish wide from close range, with the pressure from Ghana's defenders paying off.

Time running out

With the clock ticking, Ghana are continuing to frustrate the hosts.

78'

Substitution

Leroy Sané

Nick Woltemade

75'

Final stretch

Normal service has resumed, with the hosts applying the pressure, but can they get themselves back in front before the final whistle?

72'

Yellow card

Nico Schlotterbeck

Ghana equalise!

Köhn breaks away down the left before cutting back to an unmarked Fatawu, who sweeps the ball into the bottom corner from the penalty spot just moments after coming on.

70'

Abdul Fatawu

GOAL!

1:1

69'

Front foot

The hosts are pushing for a second, and don't seem too far away on the balance of play.

66'

Substitution

Abdul Fatawu

Prince Adu

66'

Raum!

He tries to curl a free-kick into the near top corner, but his effort is just wide of the mark.

65'

Yellow card

Elisha Owusu

Host of changes

With Germany in control, Nagelsmann rings the changes. Führich, Goretzka, Vagnoman and Raum all have their chance to shine now.

61'

Substitution

Chris Führich

Florian Wirtz

61'

Substitution

Leon Goretzka

Pascal Groß

61'

Substitution

Josha Vagnoman

Angelo Stiller

61'

Substitution

David Raum

Nathaniel Brown

59'

Yellow card

Prince Adu

Karl magic

The youngster skips past a handful of white shirts before being brought down, but Germany can't capitalise on the subsequent free-kick.

56'

Substitution

Derrick Luckassen

Kojo Preprah Oppong

53'

Woltemade off the bar!

Karl crosses from the right to the Newcastle striker, whose header crashes off the bar from just outside the six-yard box.

51'

Nearly an equaliser!

Semenyo skips past Rüdiger before cutting back to Adu, whose close range effort is brilliantly blocked by Schlotterbeck.

48'

Straight at it!

Brown's cross from inside the area is cleared and Rüdiger almost converts from the following corner. They win another one, but Ghana shovel the ball clear.

46'

We're back!

The action returns, with the hosts making three changes and Ghana making just one.

Kick-off!

46'

Substitution

Deniz Undav

Serge Gnabry

46'

Substitution

Lennart Karl

Kai Havertz

46'

Substitution

Antonio Rüdiger

Jonathan Tah

46'

Substitution

Elisha Owusu

Kwasi Sibo

Half-time: Germany 1-0 Ghana

The hosts go into the break with a slender lead thanks to a composed spot-kick from Havertz. Ghana did grow into the half and looked dangerous on the break toward the end. Germany did dominate throughout, however, and could have gone ahead sooner had Wirtz's goal not been disallowed.

There it is, Germany lead!

Havertz sends the 'keeper the wrong way, rolling the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.

45'

+ 2

Kai Havertz

GOAL!

1:0

Penalty

45'

+ 2

Penalty!

The referee awards a penalty to Germany upon review, and Havertz steps up to take it.

45'

Handball?

Wirtz drives to the byline before cutting it back to Havertz, whose effort is blocked by a Ghana shirt. Havertz appeals for a handball, which is now being checked.

42'

Probing

Germany continue to move the ball around in the attacking third, but without much luck so far.

There again

His goal may have been ruled out, but once again Wirtz was in the right place to be able to convert.

33'

Offside!

Wirtz has the ball in the Ghana net after a neat passing move, but the flag is raised for offside.

31'

Almost the opener!

Kimmich swings in a free-kick from the right which Asare comes for and gets nowhere near. Chaos ensues and the ball falls to Tah, who blazes over with the help of a deflection. Ghana clear the following corner.

Ghana growing into it

The previous corner seems to have given the visitors a boost in confidence, who enjoy a short spell of possession.

27'

Visitors ask questions

Ghana break forward and win a corner, which Germany eventually clear. Ghana come again, and Kimmich clears Semenyo's cross into the six-yard box.

24'

Gnabry from range

The Bayern man tries his luck from outside the area but drags his attempt wide.

Knocking on the door

Germany continue to look for a breakthrough, but can't unlock the Ghana defence as of yet.

14'

Early pressure

Germany have spent almost the entirety of the opening exchanges in the Ghana half.

10'

Scrambled clear

After a couple of dangerous deliveries into the box, Ghana manage to clear.

Defensive scare

Djiku's clearing header almost loops into his own net, but Germany have a corner instead.

Wirtz goes close!

Adjetey handles the ball just outside the area and Wirtz steps up to take the following free-kick. He clips the outside of the near post with his effort.

Early chance!

Wirtz slips in Havertz down the right-hand side of the box, where he then cuts it back to Woltemade by the penalty spot. His first-time finish rolls narrowly wide of the far corner.

We're off!

This evening's action is underway.

Kick-off!

More on that Ghana team

Two Bundesliga representatives make Otto Addo's starting 11, as Union Berlin's Derrick Köhn (pictured) starts in defence alongside Wolfsburg's Jonas Adjetey.

More on that Germany team

Nagelsmann makes four changes to the side that beat Germany. Nübel, Brown, Groß and Woltemade (pictured) come in for Baumann, Raum, Goretzka and Sané.

Germany starting line-up

Nübel - Kimmich (c), Tah, Schlotterbeck, Brown - Stiller, Groß - Gnabry, Havertz, Wirtz - Woltemade

Germany subs

Baumann, Dahmen, Anton, Raum, Rüdiger, Thiaw, Vagnoman, Führich, Goretzka, Stach, Sané, Karl, Schade, Undav

Ghana starting line-up

Asare - Yirenkyi, Djiku, Oppong, Adjetey - Adu, Sibo, Partey, Köhn - Semenyo, Ayew (c)

Ghana subs

Anang, Zigi, Luckassen, Mensah, Opoku, Pfeiffer, Senaya, Owusu, I. Sulemana, Agyei, Bonsu Baah, Fatawu, Königsdörffer, K. Sulemana

Kimmich to level Klinsmann?

If Joshua Kimmich makes an appearance tonight he'll win his 108th cap for Germany, the same number that Jürgen Klinsmann managed. That would put the Bayern midfielder joint-ninth in the all-time rankings.

Otto Addo on facing Germany

“Germany is of course a World Cup favourite, with the strength to become world champions, very good players, a flexible system, and a very good coach. I noticed that while preparing for the match. But they are not unbeatable. The past shows that Germany have repeatedly had problems against Ghana. We're looking to gain confidence from this encounter and are taking the game very seriously. On Monday evening we will give everything, and afterwards I wish Germany all the best.”

Brown expected to start

Frankfurt full back Nathaniel Brown is expected to start against Ghana in place of David Raum. Brown had been sidelined with calf problems at the start of the training camp and was still working his way back to full fitness during the victory over Switzerland, against whom he was an unused substitute. However, in the press conference on Sunday, Julian Naglesmann revealed: "He certainly won’t play 90 minutes but he is a candidate for the starting eleven, also because David has covered a lot of ground recently."

Alexander Nübel on representing Germany in Stuttgart

"I'm extremely happy," said VfB's custodian at Sunday's pre-match press conference. "It's practically my living room. Friends and family are there, so I can hardly wait to play."

Julian Nagelsmann on facing Ghana

"I expect them to try and sit deep and then create chances with their three fast players up front. I don't think they'll press high or try to have possession of the ball much."

2:05

Watch: Undav's first 11 goals of the season

Undav to feature

Nagelsmann confirmed that Undav - who has scored three goals in six games for Germany - will feature against Ghana, but didn't give any hints away as to whether Stuttgart's goal-getter would start.

0:12

Watch: Save of the year from Nübel?

Stuttgart's Nübel to start

"Alexander Nübel will start in goal," Nagelsmann revealed at his pre-match press conference on Sunday. "It's a reward for the good performances he's been showing for a long time at Stuttgart."

Stiller seizes chance

Despite initially missing out on selection from Julian Nagelsmann's squad, Angelo Stiller may have played himself into contention for the World Cup after a stellar performance against Switzerland. A latecomer to Germany's camp, who was drafted in after injuries to position-competitors Felix Nmecha and Aleksandar Pavlović, Nagelsmann praised the Stuttgart midfielder's performance, lauding after the 4-3 victory: "Angelo was superb on the ball, very calm, and that is his big strength – he very rarely gets nervous when he has control of the ball."

Which Ghanaians are playing in Germany?

There are currently seven Ghanaians playing their trade in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga. Jonas Adjetey (Wolfsburg), Derrick Köhn (Union Berlin) and Patric Pfeiffer (Darmstadt) are in the current squad. Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (Hamburg), Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (Freiburg), Stephan Ambrosius (Karlsruhe) and Christopher Antwi-Adjei (Schalke) have each represented Ghana previously.

Ghana form

Ghana, meanwhile, have lost their last three games, with their most recent defeat against Austria on Friday. They did, though, enjoy an impressive World Cup qualifying campaign having won five and drawn one of their six qualifiers in 2025.

Recent form

Germany have won each of their last six games, which yielded four clean sheets. Prior to Friday's 4-3 victory over Switzerland, Julian Nagelsmann's side won five straight qualification games to secure their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In their current run, Germany have scored 20 goals and conceded four.

Florian Wirtz on his star performance

"It was probably my best international match. I'd be lying if I said I meant to place the ball exactly there for my first goal - I just wanted to get it on target, but it wasn't intentional."

Julian Nagelsmann on beating Switzerland

"We created a lot of chances against a team that only conceded two goals in qualifying and hadn't lost in 2025. They scored a lot of goals from their few chances, but we still came back well twice."

Lennart Karl's senior Germany debut

The teenager replaced Leroy Sané in the 68th minute and played a role in Germany's 85th minute winner. Showing flashes of his exceptional talent, Karl caused the Swiss defence all sorts of problems, twice weaving his way into the box before pulling the ball back for a team-mate.

Germany overcome Swiss challenge

In a back-and-forth game, Germany eventually overcame Switzerland on Friday night 4-3, thanks to two second-half stunners from Florian Wirtz. The win ended an 18-year wait for a win over Germany's neighbours and ended Switzerland's 10-game unbeaten run.

Tale of the tape

On their way to lifting the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Miroslav Klose's 71st-minute equaliser secured a valuable point in Group G - their last meeting against Ghana - after Joachim Löw's side found themselves behind following Mario Götze's opener. In their only three clashes, Germany are unbeaten (W2, D1).

3:57

The setting

The clash will be played at VfB Stuttgart's MHP Arena. Germany have lost their last two games here (vs. France in June 2025 and vs. Spain in July 2024) - their last victory came against Hungary in June 2024.