Germany is aiming to return to the world’s elite following its early exits in 2018 and 2022. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has been leading the national team since September 2023. The historically significant matchup in Group E: Germany faces World Cup debutant Curaçao—the smallest country in the tournament. The four titles come with high expectations.

National team coach Julian Nagelsmann has named three goalkeepers to the DFB squad: Manuel Neuer, Oliver Baumann, and Alexander Nübel. Germany is among the top contenders for the title—and the goalkeeper situation has been the story that has dominated the entire preparation period. That’s because Neuer, who had announced his retirement from international soccer after EURO 2024, is making a comeback at age 40. Germany will face Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador in Group E.

Manuel Neuer is competing in his fifth World Cup. He announced his retirement from the national team following EURO 2024, where Germany was eliminated by Spain in the quarterfinals. As recently as February 2026, he made it clear that a comeback was out of the question. But then things took a different turn.

What brought him back was simply his performance. In the 2025–26 season, he started in 22 Bundesliga matches and led Bayern Munich to the German championship and the DFB Cup—his 13th league title and his seventh cup victory, both Bundesliga records. His Champions League night against Real Madrid, in particular, was widely discussed in the media. Nagelsmann saw enough. He called, Neuer agreed—and publicly stated that this moment felt like the most important “yes” of his career.

What sets Neuer apart from almost everyone else is the combination he embodies: He reinvented the modern goalkeeper as a field player, brought the concept of the sweeper-keeper to the world stage, and in the process amassed 124 international caps, a 2014 World Cup title, two Champions League titles, 246 Bundesliga clean sheets, and countless other records. His contract with Bayern runs through 2027. Nagelsmann was unequivocal: Neuer is number one.

The decision was not without controversy—Oliver Baumann had played the entire qualifying campaign and made no mistakes. Markus Babbel publicly criticized Nagelsmann’s communication sharply. Matthias Sammer defended the decision. The country is debating it—the keeper is in goal.

Baumann is one of the unsung heroes of this World Cup story. For years, he waited in the wings—first behind Neuer, then behind ter Stegen. It wasn’t until Neuer’s retirement after Euro 2024 and ter Stegen’s serious knee injury that the door opened for him. Baumann seized the opportunity: He stood between the posts in all six World Cup qualifiers, didn’t concede a single goal, and was the only DFB player to see every minute of action. In November 2025, he secured Germany’s qualification in the decisive match against Slovakia and, a few days later, reached the milestone of 500 Bundesliga appearances—only the fifth goalkeeper ever to do so.

His goalkeeper coach Michael Rechner, now with FC Bayern, once compared him to Rafael Nadal: someone who impresses through consistency, not spectacle. Baumann has never won a club title—but has been one of the Bundesliga’s most reliable goalkeepers for over a decade. The news that Neuer was returning and taking his starting spot hit him hard as the number one. Nagelsmann called him personally. Baumann accepted. He’s traveling as the number two—and deserves more recognition than he’s getting these days.

Nübel is the third-string goalkeeper and the one with perhaps the most intriguing future ahead of him. His career path: SC Paderborn youth academy, FC Schalke 04, where he made his mark in the Bundesliga in 2020 as captain and starting goalkeeper, then Bayern Munich, where he saw no playing time behind Neuer. After a loan to AS Monaco in Ligue 1, he moved to his current club, VfB Stuttgart, in 2023. There, he delivered three strong seasons: In 2025/26, he started all 34 Bundesliga matches, made 112 saves, and statistically posted better league numbers than Baumann. Stuttgart won the DFB-Pokal in 2025, and Nübel was a major reason for that.