Manuel Neuer’s return to the German national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup sparked a heated debate. The goalkeeper naturally returned as the starting goalkeeper, while Oliver Baumann had to accept the role of backup goalkeeper.
He did just that and has performed with extreme professionalism to date, even playing in the two warm-up matches that Neuer missed due to injury. Partly because of his attitude, many experts argued that Baumann should start the match against Ecuador on Matchday 3 of the group stage.
After all, the DFB team has already clinched first place in the group. And a little rotation to conserve energy isn’t a bad idea.
Julian Nagelsmann, however, rejected such speculation.
Neuer will play: Müller agrees with the national team coach
“In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, the key issue was that the team needed to gel, since they’d only played a few games together. We still have one game left, which we want to win and which we also want to use to prepare for the knockout stage—with everything that entails,” the national team coach explained at the press conferenceahead of the match against Ecuador.
So that means: Not only Jamal Musiala, who needs to find his rhythm, but Manuel Neuer will also play. That certainly won’t go over well with every expert and fan.
Thomas Müller, who is covering the World Cup as an analyst for Magenta TV, agrees with the national team coach, however. “If I were Julian Nagelsmann, I’d stick with the current approach and give the team stability. The starting goalkeeper plays when he’s fit. I’d start Manuel Neuer. “We’re not here to hand out gifts,” Müller agreed with the coach.
Rotating Neuer would only have been an option if the Bayern goalkeeper had felt any discomfort in his calf after the first two games and the physical strain. But that wasn’t the case, so Neuer will continue to guard the goal.