National football team
Nagelsmann regrets ter Stegen’s bad luck – dynamic around Neuer?
Marc-André ter Stegen is injured again. Nothing more is known yet. But one sentence from the national coach makes you sit up and take notice. Who will be the German number one at the World Cup?
Unclear situation with Marc-André ter Stegen, meaningful words from Julian Nagelsmann and possibly a new dynamic in the comeback discussion surrounding Manuel Neuer: A good seven weeks before the last two international matches before the provisional World Cup nomination, the goalkeeping issue in the national team is clearly picking up speed again.
“Marc was just back and on a really good path, we were really looking forward to his return to the national team. Now we have to continue to do without him – but for Marc personally this setback is of course much harder,” said national coach Nagelsmann.
Unclear situation at ter Stegen
The national team will play in Switzerland on March 27th and will host Ghana three days later. Until recently, Nagelsmann had assumed that he would be able to welcome Ter Stegen back into his circle after almost two years of absence. His recent words strongly suggest that it won’t be enough for Ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen’s current club FC Girona only announced on Monday that the 33-year-old had injured his thigh. In order to make a prediction about downtime, further investigations are necessary.
Good chances for Baumann
“The only thing that matters at the moment is getting healthy, in peace and without pressure. We are all behind him,” said Nagelsmann about ter Stegen. Oliver Baumann from TSG Hoffenheim should still be in goal and has a good chance of being number one at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico in the summer.
Nagelsmann had named ter Stegen number 1. However, he was out for a long time due to a knee and back injury. In order to be the starting goalkeeper at the World Cup, he moved from FC Barcelona to Girona to get the necessary match practice he hoped would be necessary. But he was only used there twice.
If Ter Stegen is out for a longer period of time, calls for Manuel Neuer to return will probably become louder. The Bayern goalkeeper had resigned from the national team after 124 international matches and the home European Championship in 2024 and had so far categorically ruled out a comeback. It is also unclear whether the soon-to-be 40-year-old will end his career in the summer or not. On Sunday (5:30 p.m./DAZN) FC Bayern welcomes the surprise team from Hoffenheim – with Baumann in the visitors’ goal.
Maier against Neuer comeback
Goalkeeper icon Sepp Maier does not expect Neuer to return. “You can’t start looking back with every crisis. Otherwise you’ll never move forward,” said the 1974 world champion to Sport1. “It would also be unfair to Oliver Baumann and other goalkeepers such as Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu, who have been preparing for months and taking responsibility.”
Record national player Lothar Matthäus regrets the new forced break for ter Stegen. The 64-year-old spoke of a “personal tragedy” for the goalkeeper. After the international matches in March, only the games on May 31st against Finland and on June 6th against World Cup co-hosts USA are left.
dpa
