HOUSTON — Manuel Neuer will start in goal for Germany against Curacao in his fifth World Cup, coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
“All the players are fit and Manu will start,” Nagelsmann said at his pre-match press conference.
Sunday’s game in Houston against the World Cup debutants will be the 40-year-old goalkeeper’s first appearance for Germany for nearly two years.
Neuer won the last of his 124 international caps in a Euro 2024 quarterfinal defeat by Spain.
Nagelsmann brought him out of international retirement after he helped Bayern win the Bundesliga title and reach the Champions League semifinals this season.
The 2014 World Cup-winner has had to nurse a calf injury in the buildup to the 2026 tournament and played no part in the 4-0 friendly win against Finland and the 2-0 victory against the USA.
Nagelsmann compared the meeting of the four-time World Cup winners with the team from the tiny Caribbean island to a domestic club match.
“This is a German Cup situation. David versus Goliath,” he said according to AFP.
The Curacao players “are all well-trained and can go into the tournament without pressure. That always makes an opponent dangerous,” Nagelsmann said.
“You never win a match just because you’re favourites. We will win a match only if we produce a perfect performance.
“We’re going to try to show our best level.”
