Fulltime Observations<\/p>\n
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\u2019s attack late in matches.<\/p>\n
It would have been better to see Alexander N\u00fcbel deal with some challenging situations. He played the role of scarecrow for most of the match and genuinely had no chance on Ghana\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Josha Vagnoman was a key member of Germany\u2019s U21 squad that won the 2021 European Championship, but he has no business being on this roster over a player like Tom Bischof.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s players cemented their spots and avoided injury.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
FT: Germany wins!<\/p>\n
90\u2019+3: Substitutions. Christopher Baah and Kamaldeen Sulemana replace Derrick K\u00f6hn and Caleb Yirenkyi.<\/p>\n
88\u2019: GOOOAAALLL! Germany up 2-1. Leon Goretzka to Leroy San\u00e9 to Deniz Undav for a clever finish at close range.<\/p>\n
78\u2019: Substitution. Leroy San\u00e9 replaces Nick Woltemade.<\/p>\n
72\u2019: Yellow card. Nico Schlotterbeck is booked for a hard foul on Caleb Yirenkyi.<\/p>\n
70\u2019: Goal, Ghana. Germany tied 1-1. Germany\u2019s defense gets caught ball watching as Abdul Fatawu Issahaku hits the one-timer.<\/p>\n
66\u2019: Substitution. Abdul Fatawu Issahaku replaces Prince Adu.<\/p>\n
65\u2019: Yellow card. Elisha Owusu is booked for a foul on Nico Schlotterbeck.<\/p>\n
61\u2019: Substitutions. David Raum, Josha Vagnoman, Leon Goretzka, and Chris F\u00fchrich replace Nathaniel Brown, Angelo Stiller, Pascal Gro\u00df, and Florian Wirtz.<\/p>\n
59\u2019: Yellow card. Prince Adu is booked.<\/p>\n
56\u2019: Substitution. Derrick Luckassen replaces an injured Kojo Oppong.<\/p>\n
53\u2019: Nick Woltemade\u2019s header clangs off the crossbar. Perfect chip across from Lennart Karl.<\/p>\n
46\u2019: Substitutions. Antonio R\u00fcdiger, Lennart Karl, and Deniz Undav replace Jonathan Tah, Serge Gnabry, and Kai Havertz. Elisha Owusu replaces Kwasi Sibo.<\/p>\n
Halftime Observations<\/p>\n
Nathaniel Brown\u2019s speed will probably not earn him a starting spot over David Raum\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n
Manchester City\u2019s Antoine Semenyo looks smooth and dangerous every time he touches the ball.<\/p>\n
Germany sent a lot of players into the box on free kicks, allowing Ghana to counter vertically. Germany\u2019s defenders proved up to the task so far but were often left on an island.<\/p>\n
HT: Germany up 1-0 at the break.<\/p>\n
45\u2019+3: GOOOAAALLL! Germany up 1-0. VAR determines Angelo Stiller\u2019s shot was blocked illegally. Kai Havertz steps up to the penalty spot and sends the keeper the wrong way.<\/p>\n
33\u2019: Nick Woltemade lays off a ball to Florian Wirtz for the opening goal but Woltemade is ruled narrowly offside.<\/p>\n
6\u2019: Florian Wirtz\u2019s free kick hits the near post.<\/p>\n
5\u2019: 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.<\/p>\n
1\u2019: LET\u2019S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!<\/p>\n
Julian Nagelsmann has chosen to immediately punish the players who turned in uninspired performances in Friday\u2019s 4-3 win over Switzerland. Leroy San\u00e9, Leon Goretzka, David Raum, and Oliver Baumann have been replaced by Nick Woltemade, Pascal Gro\u00df, Nathaniel Brown, and Alexander N\u00fcbel.<\/p>\n
Thanks to Florian Wirtz\u2019s matching pair of goals and assists, Germany outlasted Switzerland in a dramatic 4-3 win during Friday\u2019s friendly. Besides Joshua Kimmich\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/p>\n
Germany wins 4-0. Germany will focus on possession and controlling the pace to limit Ghana\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Match Info<\/p>\n
Location: MHP Arena, Stuttgart, Germany<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Date: Monday, March 30th, 2026<\/p>\n
Time: 8:45pm local time (2:45pm EST)<\/p>\n
TV\/streaming: Fox Sports 1, ViX, Find Your Country<\/a><\/p>\n Odds: Germany (-550), Draw (+550), Ghana (+1100)<\/p>\n Tips for commenting:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a new member, feel free to introduce yourself! We\u2019re\u00a0mostly\u00a0very friendly! Also, we\u2019re from all parts of the world so don\u2019t feel shy if you\u2019re from a country that doesn\u2019t seem represented on the blog.<\/p>\n Use the on-screen \u201cRefresh comments\u201d button to periodically load new comments.<\/p>\n Keep the sorting to \u201cnewest\u201d to easily follow the conversation. It puts the newest comments at the top.<\/p>\n While swearing is allowed within reason, please be polite to your fellow posters and avoid gratuitous obscenities. Racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language is not allowed whatsoever.<\/p>\n If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, Apple<\/a>, or any leading podcast distributor\u2026 <\/p>\n Join the conversation!<\/p>\n