The tension filled clash was a see-saw of emotions for Ghanaian fans, as Germany took the lead through a Mario Gotze header. A slight turnaround saw the Black Stars take the lead after Gyan turned in a sweet low strike to complement Ayew’s headed equaliser; but it was short-lived as substitute Miroslav Klose scored within a minute of coming on to equal Ronaldo’s all time world cup record of 15 goals.

The must win clash for the Stars kicked off at 19:00 GMT, with the result to be a huge determinant in the fortune of the Black Stars going forward.

Coach Kwesi Appiah, who has come in for tons of criticism following the opening day loss to USA; made three changes to his side in an attempt to get the win at the 2^nd time of asking.

Prince Boateng and Harrison Afful came on for Jordan Ayew and Daniel Opare, whilst in goal Fatau Dauda took over from Adam Kwarasey.

A dour first ten minutes was largely dominated by the Germans, who calmly kept possession and tried to draw the Stars out of their shell but the Ghanaians remained resolute in maintaining men behind the ball.

It didn’t take long for Germany to threaten, Benedikt Howedes getting behind the Stars high line, but his low cross was beat away by Jonathan Mensah.

The Black Stars also made their presence felt in the game, with Sulley Muntari’s long cross field pass picking up Christian Atsu; but his low cross was fired way over the bar by skipper Asamoah Gyan.

Germany was still hording the bulk of possession, with the Stars content to sit back, soak the pressure, and try to hit Germany on the break.

After some neat interplay, Ozil laid a pass from the right to Kroos just outside the box, but the Bayern Munich midfielder’s shot was calmly blocked by Jonathan Mensah, whilst almost immediately at the other end Atsu’s fierce low drive had to be parried away by Manuel Neuer in the first real moment of desperation for the German defence.

Ghana continued that mini spell with a cross from Ayew swept away from Gyan by Mertesacker at the last moment.

The Stars defensive play was solid and disrupted Germany’s flow, but occasionally Ozil got clear to lay passes for Muller and Kroos beside him.

In the 18^th minute such a pass found Khedira but his low shot was smothered by Dauda. The same happened almost 3 minutes later, but this time Jonathan Mensah got the clearance before Mueller could reach the cross.

The Stars continued to create the most dangerous opportunities, as in the 32^nd minute a trademark bullet Sulley Muntari drive had to be fiercely beaten away by Manuel Neuer in the German goal.

There was a brief moment of levity, when siblings Jerome and Prince had to contend for a ball in an attacking position for Ghana, but nothing came out of that.

The game briefly waned then, with Ozil getting into dangerous positions but his crosses kept getting interrupted by the Ghanaian central defensive pair of Boye and Mensah.

The half ended with a weak Jonathan Mensah shot going wayward.

Germany began the second half with a substitution, with Jerome Boateng going off for Mustafi.

The status quo was restored as Germany resumed attacking with Ghana cautiously guarding her backline to try and remain on an even footing.

Ghana barely had time to settle into the half before Germany took the lead through Mario Gotze.

A well measured cross from Thomas Muller found the run of Gotze, who squeezed between two Ghanaian players to drive his header beyond the despairing dive of Fatau Dauda in the 51^st minute.

The goal seemed to galvanise the Ghana team into action, as coach Appiah immediately made a substitution, bringing on Jordan Ayew for the ineffective Kevin Prince Boateng.

The Stars equalised within two minutes of making the substitution.

A cross from Harrison Afful found Andre Ayew’s head, for the Marseille winger’s second of the tournament. The goal sent the Ghanaian team into a charged mood as belief coursed through them as the German players seemingly deflated.

In a good spell for the side, they maintained a steady rhythm but substitute Mustafi continued to threaten down the right, his low cross in the 60^th minute easily handled by Fatau Dauda.

Then a sublime through ball from Muntari found Gyan, who peeled away from Hummels and hit his low shot into the bottom left corner of Neuer’s net in the 63^rd minute to send the Stars’ squad and bench into ecstasy.

German boss Jogi Leow responded to Appiah’s changes, bringing on legend Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteigger for Gotze and Khedira in the 69^th minute. Barely a minute later, Germany got their equaliser.

A Toni Kroos corner was flicked on by Benedict Howedes and turned in by Klose at the far post.

The goal charged up the game again as both sides went hard for the kill, but both defences held firm.

As time wore on, chances were spurned by either side, the most obvious by Jordan Ayew after a superb run got Ghana in a good position on the counter but the young striker decided to go it on his own.

Germany almost took the lead in the 84^th minute, but a great last minute tackle from Kwadwo Asamoah deflected the ball just enough for a corner kick.

On the stroke of fulltime, Germany gained a free kick but the lobbed cross was cleared to bring the contest to an end, the 2-2 result not quite what the Stars’ were looking for but putting them in a better position than they were after the opening day loss should Portugal win tomorrow.

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