Ghana arrive on a four-game losing streak against opponents who have never lost to them
Ghana’s Black Stars face a daunting test at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart on Monday evening when they take on Germany in an international friendly, with kick-off scheduled for 8:45 pm local time. Both nations are using the fixture to fine-tune their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Ghana arrive at the fixture in Stuttgart on the back of four consecutive defeats, the most recent a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Austria on Friday in Vienna. Germany, by contrast, are in formidable shape. Julian Nagelsmann’s side have won each of their last six games, a run that included four clean sheets and 20 goals scored. On Friday, Florian Wirtz starred in a seven-goal thriller in Switzerland, contributing to all four of Germany’s goals in a 4-3 victory.
The history between these two nations offers little comfort to the Black Stars. Ghana and Germany have met three times previously. Their first encounter, a 1993 friendly in Bochum, ended in a 6-1 defeat for Ghana. The two sides then met in consecutive World Cup group stages, with Germany winning 1-0 in 2010 in South Africa before a 2-2 draw in Brazil in 2014.
The 1993 defeat in Bochum remains etched in Ghanaian football memory. Ghana led 1-0 at half-time through Prince Polley before Germany scored six times in the second half, with the collapse later attributed to a reported dispute in the dressing room at the break.
At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, a Mesut Özil strike in the 60th minute was enough to give Germany a 1-0 victory over Ghana at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg before 83,391 spectators. Four years later in Fortaleza, Brazil, Ghana came closest to ending their winless record against the Germans. Mario Götze broke the deadlock before André Ayew and Asamoah Gyan put Ghana ahead, only for Miroslav Klose to come off the bench and score his 15th World Cup goal, equalling the all-time record held by Brazil’s Ronaldo, to earn Germany a 2-2 draw.
Tonight’s match carries an added subplot. Ghana’s head coach Otto Addo was born in Hamburg, played professionally in the Bundesliga and won the German championship with Borussia Dortmund in 2002. German counterpart Julian Nagelsmann acknowledged the tactical motivation behind the fixture, noting that Ghana’s counter-attacking style would give his team a taste of what to expect from Ivory Coast in the World Cup group stage.
Ghana have qualified for the 2026 World Cup and will compete in Group L against England, Croatia and Panama. They enjoyed an impressive qualifying campaign, winning five and drawing one of their six matches in 2025, but form in subsequent friendlies has been deeply concerning ahead of the tournament.
Germany’s unbeaten home record also looms large. Die Mannschaft have not lost a home fixture since November 2023, a 3-2 defeat against Turkey. Ghana have never beaten Germany in four attempts across all competitions, and the Black Stars travel to Stuttgart having conceded 13 goals without reply in their last three outings.
