June 21st will see “Die Mannschaft” go up against the “Black Stars” of Ghana at the Estádio Castelão in Fortaleza, Brazil. Germany looked as advertised and then some as they trounced a ten man Portuguese side 4-0 in their opening game last Monday, while Ghana was unlucky to not come away with a result after conceding a late goal to John Brooks and the United States. Germany will look to book an early ticket to the knockout rounds with a win, while Ghana will need to walk away with at least a point to have any chance of playing in the Round of 16.
The “Black Stars” will consider themselves very unlucky to find themselves in a position such as this one as they were by far the more dominant team against the Americans. Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan were instrumental on the pitch against Juergen Klinsmann’s men and will need to play as well if not better against a very strong German side to see a result. It will be interesting to see if Ghanaian head coach James Kwesi Appiah will use Kevin Prince Boateng and Michael Essien in his starting lineup as both of them were emitted against the US. Despite being knocked out by the Germans in 2010 the “Black Stars” will feel confident going into this one as the only difference on the day was a brilliant goal from Mesut Oezil.
The Germans on the other hand come into this game after a dominating performance against the Portuguese. Thomas Mueller bagged a hat trick and the German squad looked flawless from front to back. It will be interesting to see what Jogi Loew does with his defending line after Mats Hummels injured himself in their opening game. Look for Jerome Boateng, whose half-brother Kevin-Prince plays for Ghana, to be pushed into the middle of defense with the possibility of Philipp Lahm moving back into his usual right back role. If Loew decides to keep Lahm as the defending mid, look for youngsters Matthias Ginter or Shkodran Mustafi to fill in at the back.
Both teams will be looking to leave Fortaleza with three points, so look for it to be an open game that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The match is set to kick off at 3PM EST and can be seen on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and Univision. If you will not be near a TV don’t worry, WatchESPN will be streaming all live games here and in Spanish here.
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