In the last test before the squad nomination in May, Deniz Undav saved the DFB team from a setback. The VfB Stuttgart attacker scored in the 88th minute for a 2-1 (1-0) win against Ghana. Previously, the striker issue was already a big one, his opponents Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade had different experiences, Havertz scored from the penalty spot to make it 1-0 (45th + 3), Woltemade missed two big chances.
The Stuttgart crowd had already chanted several chants at the VfB striker in the first half. Undav thanked him with a thumbs up and also stood up from the substitutes’ bench. He sat there because national coach Julian Nagelsmann had decided on Nick Woltemade in the center of the attack; Havertz also played again from the start, this time as a right winger.
Undav wants to get out of the joker role
At the beginning of the second half, Undav came into the game and was hardly seen at all for a long time, but shortly before the end he provided redemption and an important victory that keeps the World Cup spirits high. After a header assist from Leroy Sané, the VfB professional received the ball with his left thigh and pushed it into the goal with his outstretched right leg (88th) – a typical Undav move.
Before the game, Nagelsmann had pointed out that the 29-year-old had a joker role for him because he would shine the most when the opposing defenders were tired – the national coach was right, but Undav wants more. “It was great for me to come on as a substitute and score the goal. That was a perfect evening for me”he said in the Sportschau interview and added: “I know my role, but goals can change it.”
Undav wants to be in the starting line-up, Nagelsmann stops him
After the game, Undav also thanked “his” Stuttgart fans. “It was amazing how they stood behind me, I enjoyed it”said the goalkeeper of the evening, but he also criticized him because there were whistles for Sané when he was substituted on. “I thought it was nice for me, but I pray that something like that doesn’t happen again when Leroy comes in. I thought that was a shame because at the end of the day we are a team and everyone should be supported.” Undav with a strong statement on and off the pitch.
Deniz Undav thanked the fans who chanted his name in the first half.
Nagelsmann also found the whistles “not nice. If a player wears the eagle on his chest, he should be supported as long as he wears it”. However, the national coach put a stop to Undav’s advances to play his way into the starting eleven: “We’ll see, but it’s unlikely because I didn’t have the role discussions for March, but for the World Cup.”
Nevertheless, Nagelsmann also had words of praise for his Joker. “I don’t think he had any action until then, but then he was decisive. That’s what he’s on the pitch for, he scored the goal well, it wasn’t easy in the narrow space. He did what a goalscorer has to do.”said the 38-year-old in the Sportschau interview.
Strong start from the DFB team, Woltemade in focus
The game initially looked as if Germany were picking up offensively where they left off in the 4-3 defeat in Switzerland and Ghana were picking up defensively where they left off in the 1-5 loss to Austria. The DFB team had their first big chance in the fourth minute: Havertz was through as a right winger and passed it across to Nick Woltemade, who didn’t hit the ball fully and pushed it past the goal. Shortly afterwards, Florian Wirtz missed the second opportunity, his free kick from 17 meters hit the outside post (6th).
It wasn’t until the 31st minute that the DFB team came close to scoring a deserved goal again. After a free kick cross from Joshua Kimmich, Benjamin Asare first flew past the ball, but then the goalkeeper latched on to Jonathan Tah’s shot and directed it over. A little later, Wirtz scored after a strong assist from Woltemade, but the striker had previously been just offside (33′).
Havertz was safe as usual from the penalty spot
Shortly before the break, national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team rewarded themselves for a dominant performance, but not always full of enthusiasm. Jonas Adjetey blocked a shot from Angelo Stiller with his arm, and according to the video images, referee Stuart Atwell rightly awarded a penalty. Havertz stepped up and scored his 22nd career penalty for the 22nd time – three years ago he missed in a DFB test against Peru (2-0).
Kai Havertz (from) converts a penalty in the friendly against Ghana
In the second half, another Nagelsmann joker initially drew attention: Lennart Karl played a strong cross with his weaker right foot right at Woltemade’s head, but the Newcastle United striker also missed this opportunity and the crossbar prevented his fifth goal in the DFB jersey (54th). Ghana later equalized – but only after aluminum goals: Jordan Ayew hit the outside post after a corner (63′).
DFB damper by Issahaku Fatawu
A few minutes later, Ghana made it more precise. Derrick Köhn made Josha Vagnoman look completely old, played the ball into the backcourt and there Issahaku Fatawu converted the assist precisely in the far corner (70th). This action was also the result of a weakening performance by the DFB team, which visibly suffered from the fact that the substituted Wirtz was no longer on the pitch.
In the final phase, apart from a chance for Karl (86th), who missed the opponent’s goal from close range, the German team was unable to develop a major threat for a long time. But then there was a happy ending for Undav, the Stuttgart audience and the DFB team.
National coach Nagelsmann satisfied with the last test
“From our point of view, the game went well; you could see that we are really good when we are tactically disciplined”said Nagelsmann, who criticized both the fact that his team lost patience after a strong 25 minutes and that they failed to decide the game early. “Overall we played better than against Switzerland, even if we scored fewer goals. We can’t get a 1-1 draw like that, that was very easy.”
Nagelsmann will announce the squad for the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico on May 12th, and the first training camp will begin in Herzogenaurach 13 days later. After two more tests (against Finland and USA), the first group game against Curacao will take place on June 14th.
