Manuel Neuer to start for Germany in World Cup upon his return, despite Oliver Baumann long being labelled team’s first choice.
Published On 21 May 2026
Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer has come out of international retirement to compete in next month’s World Cup after being named on Thursday as the starting goalkeeper in Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann’s squad for the tournament.
Nagelsmann made the decision after having long labelled Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann as his first-choice keeper.
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“Yes, I plan with that [with Neuer as number one],” Nagelsmann told a press conference. “The main task was to nominate the best three keepers. So we decided that these three are part of that.”
“We contacted Manuel and asked him if he wanted to play for the national team again,” said Nagelsmann.
The 40-year-old Neuer, who last competed for Germany at Euro 2024 before his international retirement, is now set to play in his fifth successive World Cup, joining an elite group of football players with five or more tournaments.
Neuer, a 2014 World Cup winner, enjoyed a solid season with champions Bayern, who could win the domestic double with victory over VfB Stuttgart in the German Cup final on Saturday.
He signed a contract extension with Bayern last week.
There were few other major surprises in Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for the tournament starting next month. But the coach also called up Bayern’s teenage player Lennart Karl, who enjoyed a meteoric rise this season, as well as Nadiem Amiri and Leroy Sane, who both had outside chances of earning a spot.
“They [players] fit well together. It is a good mix. Many have been playing since their youth together,” Nagelsmann said. “We are happy with our choice, but know others will stay at home who have performed very well.”
Germany, who face Curacao, Ecuador and Ivory Coast in Group E at the World Cup, have set their sights on a fifth title after shock first-round exits in the past two editions in 2018 and 2022.
“The statement stands,” Nagelsmann said. “We want to become world champions. Every player who is nominated needs to show it now every day.”
Germany squad for FIFA World Cup 2026:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Oliver Baumann, Alexander Nubel
Defenders: Nico Schlotterbeck, David Raum, Nathaniel Brown, Jonathan Tah, Waldemar Anton, Pascal Gross, Joshua Kimmich, Felix Nmecha, Malick Thiaw, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Antonio Rudiger, Angelo Stiller
Midfielders/Forwards: Leon Goretzka, Maximilian Beier, Jamal Musiala, Nadiem Amiri, Jamie Leweling, Kai Havertz, Lennart Karl, Florian Wirtz, Deniz Undav, Nick Woltemade, Leroy Sane
