Heavy blow for ter Stegen
Manuel Neuer apparently takes a break from the DFB and then wants to continue
After eight major tournaments, Manuel Neuer is not going to stop playing in goal for the national team. The eternal number one would like to continue after the European Championship defeat against Spain. However, according to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, he will sit out for the time being.
First an unusual break, then on to the 2026 World Cup: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer apparently wants to continue his career in the German national team. The last world champion from 2014 has made this decision, according to information from the “Bild” newspaper. Sports director Rudi Völler of the German Football Association (DFB) recently announced an announcement before the nomination for the September international matches that Neuer would “have the first serve himself”. The DFB did not confirm the “Bild” report when asked.
After eight major tournaments as number one, Neuer wants to tackle the 2026 World Cup and be in the German goal at the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico at the age of 40. Whether he will actually add more to his 124 international matches to his name depends above all on national coach Julian Nagelsmann. He announced during the European Championships at home that he wanted to rejuvenate the DFB squad with a view to the 2026 World Cup.
But now everything seems to be heading towards a continuation: According to Bild, Neuer will not be playing against Hungary in Düsseldorf (7 September) and against the Netherlands in Amsterdam (10 September), but will only be back “towards the end of the year”. The 38-year-old said at the beginning of August that he had nothing to announce yet. After being eliminated from the European Championships at home four weeks earlier, he had left the decision about his future in the DFB jersey open. There are further international match windows in both October and November, each with two Nations League matches.
After the European Championship, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos and captain Ilkay Gündoğan have announced that their careers in the DFB team are over. If Neuer continues, he would automatically be a candidate for the position of captain – he was DFB captain for seven years until autumn 2023. His contract with Bayern Munich only runs until 2025. A continuation would be another heavy blow for Marc-André ter Stegen. The 32-year-old has been FC Barcelona's regular goalkeeper since 2014, without ever having been the German number one. He has often represented Neuer during injury breaks, most recently after his serious skiing accident in December 2022.
