The desired replacement has been found, the path to the World Cup is clear: the German national team will test against Ghana at the beginning of the tournament year.
The four-time African champion will step in for Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in Stuttgart on March 30th (8:45 p.m.). The German Football Association (DFB) announced this on Monday.
The DFB had to look for a replacement because the Ivory Coast had been selected as the group opponents of Julian Nagelsmann’s selection in the World Cup draw on December 5th. Ghana is coached by former Bundesliga professional Otto Addo and had also qualified for the World Cup.
“We’re really looking forward to the duel with Otto’s team,” said Nagelsmann and added: “Their strong transition play can give us a foretaste of the World Cup group duel with Ivory Coast.”
The DFB team’s World Cup schedule is set
With the new opponent, the timetable for the XXL tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026 (June 11th to July 19th) is set.
Three days beforehand, Switzerland will be their first opponents of the World Cup year in Basel. On May 31st, the national team will travel to the USA in Mainz against Finland. The co-host will be the opponent at the dress rehearsal for the tournament on June 6th in Chicago.
This starts for the DFB team on June 14th in Houston against outsiders Curacao. Other opponents in Group E include Ivory Coast in Toronto on June 20 and Ecuador in East Rutherford five days later.
Ghana will play in Group L at the World Cup against England, Croatia and Panama. The DFB selection has played against the West Africans three times so far. Germany won the 1993 friendly match in Bochum 6-1, followed by two duels at World Cups: in South Africa in 2010 there was a 1-0 draw in the group phase, and on the way to the title four years later in Brazil it was 2-2 in the preliminary round.