It was not in Manuel Neuer’s plans to compete in the 2026 World Cup. He had already resigned himself to his retirement from the Germany national team since 2024, when he competed in the European Championship and said goodbye. But he ended up being convinced to change his mind in a move that included pressure from some old teammates and, above all, the initiative of coach Julian Nagelsmann.
At 40 years old, the experienced goalkeeper will represent his country again as a starter. It was like this in the four World Cups in which he played, since his debut in 2010, going through his peak with the title in the 2014 edition, followed by eliminations in the group stage in 2018 and 2022.
With 124 appearances, Neuer is the goalkeeper with the most appearances for the national team in history.
Since he was no longer called up, several names have tried to establish themselves in the position, such as Alexander Nübel, Kevin Trapp, Finn Dahmen, Stefan Ortega, Janis Blaswich and Bernd Leno. The one who managed to stand out the most was Oliver Baumann, who until this Thursday (21) had the hope of being the starter in the World Cup.
Although he has said several times in recent months that Germany do not have a goalkeeping problem, taking Neuer to the World Cup shows that Nagelsmann was not so convinced of his own statements. He even made an effort to overcome an old disagreement with the athlete, from the time he led him at Bayern. At the time, there was a disagreement linked to the dismissal of Toni Tapalović, Neuer’s favorite goalkeeper trainer.
The return to the national team began to be speculated at the end of last year and became the subject of debate among the Germans. While players from the current squad and Neuer’s former teammates defended his call-up, fans were divided.
An online survey carried out by Bild, one of the main newspapers in Germany, showed until the beginning of this Thursday afternoon that 59% of the 160,700 respondents preferred that Baumann be kept in the starting position.
Nagelsmann is often accused of placing too many chips on veteran players instead of betting on emerging talents. In the case of goalkeepers, he exchanged a 35-year-old player, Baumann, for a 40-year-old, Neuer.
Baumann was never recognized as a big name in the position, but he had taken advantage of the decline of more valued names, such as Marc-André ter Stegen, struck down by successive injuries, and Alexander Nübel, in a bad technical phase.
Neuer, in turn, was a starter in another solid season for Bayern. The team secured the German Championship title well in advance and will compete in the German Cup final against Stuttgart on Saturday. In the Champions League, it ended in a fierce semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The archer’s performances earned him a one-year contract extension. The agreement took place precisely when the first speculations about a return to the national team emerged.
“The main task was to nominate the three best goalkeepers. We decided that the three [Neuer, Baumann e Nübel] are on that list. So, we got in touch with Manuel and asked if he would like to play for the national team again,” said Nagelsmann.
As soon as Neuer takes the field at the World Cup — and the coach has made it clear that he will be the starter — he will become the oldest player to represent the German national team in a major tournament. The record belongs to Lothar Matthäus, who played in the 2000 Euro Cup at the age of 39.
Matthäus recognizes Neuer’s importance for the national team. He said he understands the coach’s option, but expressed concern about the way the change in Germany’s goal was made.
During an Alemão broadcast on Sky, the former player said he would take Neuer to the World Cup, but that the first person to be notified should have been the man removed from the team. “It’s an affront to Oliver Baumann,” he said. “From a human point of view, [avisá-lo] It’s even an obligation.”
Managing the locker room will be one of the challenges for Germany, which, since winning the 2014 World Cup, has no longer been able to find itself on the main stage of world football. It didn’t even make it to the knockouts.
The German team is in Group E of the World Cup: it will debut against Curaçao on June 14, in Houston, will face Ivory Coast on June 19, in Toronto, and will face Ecuador five days later, on the outskirts of New York.
When he steps onto the pitch in Houston, Neuer will become the second goalkeeper to play in five World Cups, equaling the mark of Mexican Antonio Carbajal (from 1950 to 1966) — fellow Mexican Guillermo Ochoa and Italian Gianluigi Buffon were called up for five World Cups, but did not take the field in all of them.
