Germany were on the front foot right from the off at the MHP Arena, as Nick Woltemade steered a golden opportunity just off target from six yards out and Florian Wirtz’s free-kick clipped the post - both chances coming inside a busy opening 10 minutes.
Despite Ghana settling into the contest from there, Germany continued to carry all the threat, but Jonathan Tah blazed over the bar from close range on the half-hour mark before Wirtz’s neat finish was ruled out after a VAR review for offside against Woltemade.
However, Ghana’s stubborn resistance was finally broken in stoppage time when Jonas Adjetey was adjudged to have handled Angelo Stiller’s flick inside the visitors’ penalty area.
Kai Havertz coolly slotted home from the spot for his first Germany goal since November 2024, giving Julian Nagelsmann’s men a half-time lead.
Buoyed by their breakthrough just before the interval, Germany flew out of the traps after the restart, with Woltemade nodding substitute Lennart Karl’s delivery onto the crossbar.
However, with the hosts struggling to add to their one-goal lead, Ghana ruthlessly levelled on 70 minutes through Abdul Fatawu, who steered home from 10 yards having been teed up by Derrick Köhn.
With a few minutes left, though, Germany retook the lead after a wonderfully worked team move, as substitute Deniz Undav delivered the finishing touch.
Defeat in Stuttgart means Ghana have now lost four games in a row - far from ideal preparation ahead of the World Cup this summer. They'll take on Mexico next, while Germany face Finland, buoyed by extending their unbeaten H2H record.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lennart Karl (Germany)