Germany are aiming to return to the top of the world rankings following their early exits in 2018 and 2022. Manager Julian Nagelsmann has been in charge of the national team since September 2023. The historically significant clash in Group E: Germany face World Cup debutants Curaçao – the smallest nation in the tournament. Their four titles come with high expectations.

Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann has named three goalkeepers in the DFB squad: Manuel Neuer, Oliver Baumann and Alexander Nübel. Germany are among the clear favourites for the title – and the goalkeeping dilemma is the story that has dominated the entire build-up. This is because Neuer, who had announced his retirement from international football after EURO 2024, is making a comeback at the age of 40. Germany will face Curaçao, the 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 were knocked out by Spain in the quarter-finals. 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 performances. In the 2025/26 season, he played in 22 Bundesliga matches and led Bayern Munich to the German league title 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 had seen enough. He rang him up, Neuer agreed – and publicly declared 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 has reinvented the modern goalkeeper as a field player, brought the concept of the sweeper-keeper to the world’s elite, and in doing so has amassed 124 international caps, a World Cup title in 2014, two Champions League titles, 246 Bundesliga clean sheets and countless other records. His contract with Bayern runs until 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 criticised Nagelsmann’s communication in sharp terms. Matthias Sammer defended the decision. The nation debates – the keeper stands in goal.

Baumann is one of the unsung heroes of this World Cup story. For years, he waited in the wings – behind Neuer, then behind ter Stegen. It was only Neuer’s retirement after Euro 2024 and ter Stegen’s serious knee injury that opened the door for him. Baumann seized his chance: he stood between the posts in all six World Cup qualifiers, conceded not a single goal and was the only DFB player to feature for every minute. In November 2025, he secured Germany’s qualification in the decisive match against Slovakia and, a few days later, broke the 500-game Bundesliga record – becoming only the fifth goalkeeper ever to do so.

His goalkeeping coach Michael Rechner, now at 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 keepers for over a decade. The news that Neuer was returning and would take his place as first-choice goalkeeper hit him hard. Nagelsmann called him personally. Baumann accepted. He travels as the second-choice keeper – and deserves more recognition than he is getting these days.

Nübel is the third-choice goalkeeper and the one whose future is perhaps the most intriguing. His career path: SC Paderborn’s youth team, FC Schalke 04, where he made his mark in the Bundesliga in 2020 as captain and first-choice goalkeeper, then Bayern Munich, where he saw no playing time behind Neuer. Following a loan spell at AS Monaco in Ligue 1, he moved to his current club, VfB Stuttgart, in 2023. There, he has had three strong seasons: In 2025/26, he played in all 34 Bundesliga matches, saved 112 shots and statistically has better league statistics than Baumann. Stuttgart won the DFB-Pokal in 2025, and Nübel was a key factor in that success.