{"id":3083,"date":"2026-04-08T16:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/3083\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:27:09","slug":"2026-world-cup-neuers-champions-league-heroics-vs-real-madrid-spark-germany-return-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/3083\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 World Cup: Neuer’s Champions League heroics vs Real Madrid spark Germany return talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bayern Munich\u2019s 2-1 win over Real Madrid<\/a> in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals was built, in part, on Manuel Neuer\u2019s performance. That put the veteran goalkeeper back in the spotlight, fueling debate over whether he should return to the Germany national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis version of Neuer is world-class; he belongs in the national team,\u201d said legend Lothar Matthaus after the match, according to Marca. He also sent a message to the Germany<\/a> head coach: \u201cI hope Nagelsmann watched the match. I would love to see Neuer in this kind of form at the World Cup\u2026 but I also know that won\u2019t happen. Nagelsmann won\u2019t open that door.\u201d<\/p>\n

That push comes nearly two years after Neuer<\/a>\u2019s retirement from international soccer. He chose to close that chapter of his career following Germany\u2019s elimination from UEFA Euro 2024 in the quarterfinals against Spain.<\/p>\n

In that way, the goalkeeper said goodbye to Germany after 15 years, having first been called up in 2009. During that span, he played in four World Cups<\/a> and four European Championships, and won the sport\u2019s biggest prize at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, defeating Argentina 1-0 in the final. In total, he made 124 international appearances and recorded 54 clean sheets.<\/p>\n

\"Germany<\/p>\n

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best players have to go to the World Cup, and Manu is by far the best goalkeeper in the world,\u201d said former star Benedikt Howedes, who was Neuer\u2019s teammate at the 2014 World Cup. Even a current Germany and Bayern Munich<\/a> player, Aleksandar Pavlovic, shared his view: \u201cI would never say no to Manu, no matter his age. He is still an exceptional goalkeeper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Antonio<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

Antonio R\u00fcdiger reveals what Germany must fix: \u2018Talent alone doesn\u2019t win World Cups\u2019<\/p>\n

<\/a>What did Neuer say about a possible return to Germany?<\/p>\n

Those calls for Manuel Neuer\u2019s return to the Germany national team generated enough speculation that the 40-year-old goalkeeper addressed the topic himself after the match against Real Madrid in the Champions League.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything has already been said about it,\u201d Neuer replied when asked about a potential appearance at the 2026 World Cup. Instead, he chose to focus on his club objectives: \u201cWhat matters now is finishing the rest of the season with Bayern. I\u2019m enjoying my time with the team, at the club, with the coaching staff. It\u2019s true that I\u2019m 40 years old, but I\u2019m still here.\u201d<\/p>\n

How have Germany replaced Neuer?<\/p>\n

Since Manuel Neuer\u2019s international retirement, Julian Nagelsmann has been forced to test different options in goal for Germany. Over the past two years, the coach has used three different goalkeepers in official matches and friendlies.<\/p>\n

The most-used has been Hoffenheim\u2019s Oliver Baumann, with a total of 11 appearances. Behind him is Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has managed just four matches due to injury issues during his time with Barcelona, which have also kept him sidelined at Girona. The third goalkeeper selected by Nagelsmann is Stuttgart\u2019s Alexander Nubel, who has featured in three matches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bayern Munich\u2019s 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3084,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[144,5,362,284],"class_list":{"0":"post-3083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-bayern-munich","9":"tag-germany","10":"tag-manuel-neuer","11":"tag-world-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}