Manuel Neuer should be in goal for the German national football team again at the home European Championship. According to information from the German Press Agency and the Sport-Informationsidnest, national coach Julian Nagelsmann chose the goalkeeper, who returned to the DFB squad after a long injury break, almost three months before the opening game in Munich against Scotland and before the upcoming international matches against France and the Netherlands of FC Bayern Munich decided.
Marc-André ter Stegen from FC Barcelona once again only has the role of number two at a major tournament, as the online portal Sportbuzzer previously reported. There was initially no official confirmation from the DFB on Wednesday. When announcing the squad last week, Nagelsmann announced that he wanted to talk to the invited actors about their future roles on Monday and Tuesday.
The 37-year-old Neuer and ter Stegen, who is six years his junior, have been competitors in the DFB selection for twelve years. Both have been among the world’s best goalkeepers for years. After DFB regular goalkeeper Neuer broke his leg in a skiing accident following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the time seemed to have come for ter Stegen.
During Neuer’s long absence, the former Gladbacher finally saw himself on the way to his first major tournament as number one. Neuer has always been in the DFB goal at all World Cup and European Championship finals since 2010. The Bayern captain is scheduled to play his 118th international match since his debut in 2009 against France on Saturday in Lyon. Ter Stegen has made 38 appearances in the DFB goal since 2012.
The highlight for Neuer in the national team was winning the title at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Ter Stegen, on the other hand, was only in goal when they won the Confederations Cup in 2017, when the then national coach Joachim Löw competed in Russia with a young team without established players like regular goalkeeper Neuer.
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After his comeback in the Bayern goal almost six months ago, the ambitious Neuer had once again set his sights on taking part in the home European Championship. “I’m concentrating on myself, on my performance and will give my all again for the national team,” he said last weekend about his ambitions for a comeback as number one and added: “The coach will then decide.”
Manuel Neuer (left) and Marc-André ter Stegen: Image: dpa
