German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will return to Germany’s starting line-up at the World Cup, which will be held from June 11 to July 19 in Canada, the USA and Mexico, German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann announced on Thursday.
Bayern Munich captain and goalkeeper Neuer announced at the end of the summer of 2024 that he will retire from international football to focus on his club goals.
His last game for the German national team it was almost 700 years ago daysand in the defeat against Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
To replace Neuer, who won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, Nagelsmann Marc-André ter Stegen appointed as his first goalkeeper, but he is the goalkeeper of Barcelona he suffered a series of injuries (ruptured patellar tendon in late September 2024, which kept him out for seven months, then back surgery in late July 2025, which also kept him out for three months).
Relegated to third in Barca’s goalkeeping hierarchy, ter Stegen joined Spanish club Girona in January 2026 to gain playing time, but suffered another hamstring injury in early February and has not played since.
Without ter Stegen, Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann has established himself as the new first goalkeeper of the German national team.
Gemeinsam für Deutschland: Unser Kader für die WM 2026! 🖤❤️💛#dfbteam #fifaworldcup2026 pic.twitter.com/zaxWgXsGGv
— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team) May 21, 2026
Neuer, who is extended his contract with Bayern for one more season until summer 2027, he injured his calf twice at the end of the winter, but returned to his best form in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Champions League against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Germany is at the World Cup in Group E and plays Curaçao on June 14 in Houston, Ivory Coast on June 19 in Toronto and Ecuador on June 24 in New York.
If Neuer plays the game, he will become the second goalkeeper to play in five World Cupswhich so far only the Mexican Antonio Carbajal managed between 1950 and 1966.
🚨🇩🇪 OFFICIAL: Manuel Neuer will be at the 2026 World Cup, confirmed. pic.twitter.com/tJUzpEubgG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 21, 2026
(Hina | Photo: X)
