Manuel Neuer has established a new World Cup record with his start against Ivory Coast.
The veteran FC Bayern Munich goalkeeper is now the keeper with the most appearances in a World Cup tournament. Neuer is making his 21st appearance in a World Cup finals match during the DFB team’s second group stage game against Ivory Coast.
The previous record was held by France’s long-serving national goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who guarded the net for the French national team 20 times at World Cups.
Neuer first played for Germany in June 2009 in a 7-2 victory against the United Arab Emirates. He went on to play as the starting goalkeeper in the following year’s World Cup in South Africa, having been brought in due to an injury to the then-number one, Rene Adler.
Subsequently, the 37-year-old was also the first-choice goalkeeper in the tournaments in 2014 in Brazil, 2018 in Russia, and 2022 in Qatar. After the home European Championship in 2024, Neuer had declared his international career would end, but he was recalled by national coach Julian Nagelsmann for the current World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Neuer has stated his intention not to play in any further tournaments, whether World Cup or European Championship. «It’s basically decided for me that this is my last tournament. I have no intention of being in goal at the European Championship in two years,» he recently explained.
In total, the Bayern keeper has worn the DFB jersey 125 times. He has conceded 119 goals and kept clean sheets on 50 occasions. His greatest triumph was the 2014 World Cup title.