Manuel Neuer’s Comeback in German National Team Goalkeeping Increasingly Likely for World Cup

Manuel Neuer is reportedly part of the preliminary expanded squad submitted to FIFA by Monday. Is the comeback of the Bayern goalkeeper actually happening?

Will Manuel Neuer participate in the World Cup after all? In any case, the FC Bayern Munich goalkeeper is said to have made it onto Julian Nagelsmann’s 55-man preliminary squad. This is reported by Sky Sport. This expanded preliminary squad had to be submitted to the world governing body FIFA by last Monday.

Only players included in this extended squad can be called up or, in exceptional cases, nominated later for the World Cup finals in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, which begin on June 11th. Nagelsmann will announce his final squad on Thursday.

According to Sky Sport information, the national coach and Neuer met personally and discussed a potential comeback for the 40-year-old exceptional goalkeeper.

Is Ter Stegen’s Bad Luck Neuer’s Good Fortune?

Neuer has played a total of 124 international matches for the German national team, became a World Cup winner in 2014, and returned in 2024 after being eliminated in the quarter-finals against Spain at the home European Championship.

Since then, there have been repeated calls for the return of the multiple-time World Goalkeeper, fueled by his consistently strong performances and also by the ongoing injury misfortune of his intended successor, Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Oliver Baumann Played Nations League and World Cup Qualifiers

«We’ve seen in the recent games what an outstanding goalkeeper Neuer still is, even at 40,» said Bayern President Herbert Hainer to Sky Sport on Thursday on the sidelines of the Women’s DFB-Pokal final in Cologne. «I’m always happy when the best players are at the World Cup, but it’s a matter between him and Julian Nagelsmann. They will decide.»

In the most recent international matches at the end of March against Switzerland and Ghana, the German goalkeeping trio consisted of Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim), Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart), and Finn Dahmen (FC Augsburg).

The 35-year-old Baumann was clearly Nagelsmann’s number one recently and played in goal for Germany in both the Nations League and the successful World Cup qualification.

German National Team: Upcoming Matches