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Signs are increasingly clear that 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will serve as Germany's first-choice goalkeeper at this summer's World Cup.
According to morning news from German media Bild, Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has called 35-year-old Oliver Baumann, the previous first-choice goalkeeper, to inform him that the starting goalkeeper position for the World Cup has been officially assigned to the Bayern Munich shot-stopper Neuer. The TSG Hoffenheim goalkeeper also stated to the head coach that he is willing to travel to the World Cup as a backup goalkeeper.
Nagelsmann will officially announce Germany's 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico on Thursday local time. Previously, he had remained tight-lipped about Neuer's national team prospects, and when appearing on ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) on Saturday, he said he needed to communicate with all players individually, and these conversations had not yet been completed. Earlier, German Sky Sports was the first to break the news that Nagelsmann planned to recall the former Germany captain, and at that time, the head coach also stated bluntly that the news had been leaked in advance.
After the final match of the Bundesliga season, Neuer himself did not respond to questions about returning to the national team, only replying: тАЬYou don't need to know about this.тАЭ
Baumann had started in all of Germany's World Cup qualifying matches and was convinced that he would travel to the World Cup as the first-choice goalkeeper, with Nagelsmann having previously expressed his trust in him. Currently, Neuer is suffering from a calf injury and was substituted midway through his last league match before being named to the squad. However, it is reported that the injury is not serious, and the 2014 World Cup winner is highly likely to play in the DFB-Pokal final against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
Just last Friday, Neuer signed a one-year contract extension with Bayern Munich, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2027. From the 2010 World Cup to the 2024 European Championship, he continuously held the position of Germany's starting goalkeeper in major tournaments, and announced his retirement from the national team after the European Championship two years ago.
He now holds a record of 124 appearances for the German national team, firmly ranking first in the history of German goalkeepers in terms of caps, and fifth among all players in the team's history across all positions. The highlight of his career was leading the team to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.
