On Monday, Germany will meet Ghana in Stuttgart – and many friends from the Bundesliga. Once a feared favorite, the “Black Stars” are currently in crisis.
It has been twelve years since Germany last met Ghana – in total that was only the case three times. In 2014 there was a duel in the preliminary round of the World Cup in Brazil. As good as the memories of the 2014 World Cup may be in Germany, the game against Ghana was difficult. The team from Africa was in the lead until 20 minutes before the end, but with great difficulty Miroslav Klose saved a draw with his goal to make it 2-2.
Boateng hurts Ballack
Things went better at the 2010 World Cup, when Mesut Özil shot Germany to victory against Ghana. But there were headlines back then well before the World Cup clash, when Ghana star Kevin-Prince Boateng FA Cup-Final Germany captain Michael Ballack fouled with serious consequences. The incident became one of the most famous fouls in DFB history because Ballack first missed the World Cup – and then never played for Germany again.
Kevin Prince-Boateng (left) fouls Michael Ballack
Football nation in crisis
So now the next duel follows. Ghana is a long way from the top form of previous years; in the test against Austria on Friday they suffered a 5-1 defeat. The West Africans were once regularly in the top 20 of the world rankings – currently they are only in 72nd place. The results at the Africa Cup underline this. While the “Black Stars” never did worse than 4th place between 2008 and 2017, this year they were not there at all for the first time since 2004; Before that it had already ended twice in the preliminary round.
The quality of the squad has also declined somewhat. While players like Boateng, Michael Essien, Kwadwo Asamoah and André Ayew used to play for Ghana, today there are fewer stars in the squad. There are high hopes Manchester City-Attacker Antoine Semenyo, the third best shooter in the world with 15 goals Premier League is.
Ghana is setting up Bundesliga power
But it’s not just his name that you might know: The squad initially included two Bundesliga professionals, Derrik Köhn from 1. FC Union Berlin and Wolfsburg newcomer Jonas Adjetey, both of whom were in the starting line-up against Austria – as well as Patric Pfeiffer, who is fighting for promotion with SV Darmstadt in the 2nd league.
Finally, a third Bundesliga professional was added later: Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer from HSV, contrary to expectations, also gets a chance in the special game against Germany. The center forward was called up for the World Cup tests after being canceled due to injury and came on as a substitute against Austria. However, his place in the team is anything but certain; he will have to prove himself against Germany.
Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer from Hamburger SV
German on the coaching bench
“It was difficult for him recently because we played very well in the World Cup qualifiers, the other players did well, including in their clubs. The competitive situation here, especially in the attack, where I also see Ransi in the club, is of course enormous“, explains coach Otto Addo the situation. Now Königsdörffer has the opportunity to show himself that the World Cup train is “definitely not crazy“.
Otto Addo himself is likely to be well remembered by many football fans in Germany: The 50-year-old was not only born in Hamburg, but also played in the Bundesliga for a long time, became German champion with BVB, won the cup and played in the Champions League. The German-Ghanaian raves about Union player Köhn, who also has both passports: “We are glad that he chose Ghana. He took part in the two test matches in November and made a good impression. He has a very good chance of being at the World Cup.“
Derrik Köhn from 1. FC Union Berlin
Respect for Nagelsmann’s team
The anticipation for the test match on Monday is great: “Germany is always at the top, has very, very good players and a very, very good coach“, says Addo. He believes Nagelsmann’s team can do anything for the World Cup, Germany is “always good for a title“.
At the same time, the coach of the “Black Stars” remains optimistic about the test match: his team can “keep up with the top nations on good days.“The game against Germany is an important acid test for Ghana before the World Cup. The Africans don’t have an easy ride there, they face England, Croatia and Panama in Group L.
