STUTTGART, Germany, March 30 : Germany forward Deniz Undav came off the bench to score an 88th-minute goal that secured a 2-1 victory over Ghana in a friendly on Monday, boosting his chances of making the World Cup squad.
The VfB Stuttgart striker, who is second on the Bundesliga scorers’ list with 18 goals, made the most of a second-half appearance in front of a home crowd, bagging the winner with a flick over the Ghana keeper.
The winning goal came after Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann had raised eyebrows on Friday when Undav was left on the bench as they beat Switzerland 4-3.
“A perfect evening. It was amazing to hear this support from the fans,” Undav said. “I came in and scored the goal but what is more important is that we won the game because otherwise it does not mean much.”
Asked whether he would settle for a substitute’s role at the World Cup as Nagelsmann had hinted, Undav said he had discussed his position with the coach.
“I accept my role and maybe if I score more goals like this my role may change, who knows,” Undav said.
HAVERTZ PENALTY
Germany had an early chance through forward Nick Woltemade, who has struggled for form at Newcastle United this season but got the nod to start instead of Undav.
They had Ghana firmly on the back foot when Kai Havertz converted a first-half stoppage-time penalty to give the hosts a deserved lead, and they had a chance to grab a second goal when Woltemade hit the crossbar with a powerful header early in the second half.
But the Germans lacked the intensity they had shown over 90 minutes against the Swiss when they twice came from a goal down to win and Ghana gradually started finding more space to launch quick breaks.
The visitors scored with their first chance after the interval, substitute Abdul Fatawu tapping in after a fine run down the left and an assist from Derrick Koehn in the 70th.
Teenager Lennart Karl came close to scoring in the 86th minute but his low shot rolled narrowly wide. Instead it was local hero Undav, whose name fans had chanted since the first half, who grabbed the late winner.
“We now have to start analysing our opponents in the World Cup,” Nagelsmann said. “Now we have time for that and also to keep monitoring our players and take the final decision before the squad announcement in May.”
The Germans, who have not reached a final in any major international tournament since winning their fourth World Cup in 2014 in Brazil, have been drawn in Group E with Ecuador, Curacao and Ivory Coast for the June 11-July 19 tournament.
They play their opening World Cup match in Houston, Texas on June 14 against Curacao. Germany then travel to Toronto on June 20 to take on Ivory Coast before their last group game against Ecuador in New York on June 25.
Ghana are in Group L along with Croatia, England and Panama.
