It was at the 2014 World Cup when Ghana had the German national team — who would later go on to become world champions — on the brink of defeat. In the sweltering heat of Fortaleza, the African nation even took a 2–1 lead at one point. But Miroslav Klose salvaged a point for Löw’s side.
But why are we telling you this? After all, it’s ancient history. Yet if you look at the Ghana national team from twelve years ago and compare it with today’s, one name immediately stands out: Ayew. Both André and substitute Jordan Ayew featured in 2014. While his brother André even got on the scoresheet back then, Jordan will reunite with the DFB team tonight.
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Germany and Ghana are meeting again in a football match for the first time since the tournament in Brazil — and Jordan Ayew is still there. The now 34-year-old led his team as captain through the African World Cup qualifiers. With five goal contributions in four matches, he played a major role in Ghana securing another World Cup appearance. In Group L, Otto Addo’s team will face Panama, England and Croatia this summer.
But Ghana still has plenty of work to do in preparation. On Friday evening, they were thrashed 5–1 by Austria. Ghana’s goalscorer: of course, Jordan Ayew. Against the German team, it will now be another tough match, “so we will give our best,” the Ghana captain had already announced at the press conference before the Austria game.
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Despite the heavy defeat, Julian Nagelsmann does not want to underestimate Ghana. “They are physically strong, and it’s not that easy to defend all their players in one-on-one situations, especially when we’re talking about the forwards. They are very fast, very agile,” said the Germany coach at the press conference, where he described them as a “tough opponent.”
Counters must therefore be avoided; instead, Nagelsmann is demanding good man-marking and strong counter-pressing from his team. They also need to avoid giving the ball away so often in the build-up.
If that does happen, Ayew will be there. And who knows, maybe the striker can do what his brother managed twelve years ago by scoring against the German national team.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
