Expert certain: Neuer will play at the 2026 World Cup! | OneFootball

After Manuel Neuer's outstanding performance in FC Bayern's 2-1 victory at Paris Saint-Germain, an old debate has flared up again in Germany: Should the 39-year-old return to the national team’s goal after all?

For former Bundesliga pro and TV expert Jan-Age Fjörtoft, the answer is clear. The Norwegian, once a striker at Eintracht Frankfurt himself, had strong words on Sky: “If a German believes that Manuel Neuer won’t play at the World Cup, he can stop watching football.”

With this, Fjörtoft sparked a debate that national coach Julian Nagelsmann had actually long since ended.

“Is that just vanity from Nagelsmann?”

Photo: IMAGO/Eibner

Fjörtoft openly questioned the personnel policy of the national coach: “Is that just the vanity of Julian Nagelsmann, who says: ‘No, I don’t want him, he goes skiing?’”

The 58-year-old is convinced that Neuer himself has not yet given up on the dream of one last World Cup appearance: “Of course he wants that. That would be a great ending to a great football career.”

Even though Neuer officially announced his retirement from the DFB team after 124 international matches in the summer of 2024, the keeper has remained noticeably reserved in the discussion. Nagelsmann, on the other hand, has repeatedly emphasized that he does not want to get involved in another goalkeeper debate.

Currently, Oliver Baumann from TSG Hoffenheim is the number one in the DFB goal, after Marc-André ter Stegen dropped out due to injury.

Outstanding performance in Paris – Dreesen praises Neuer

Neuer himself did not comment on the World Cup rumors – but his performance in Paris spoke for itself. The Bayern captain secured the victory with several brilliant saves and was rightly named “Man of the Match” by UEFA.

At the internal Bayern banquet after the match, Neuer also received extra praise from CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, who said: “Manuel, fantastic! Incredible what you can still achieve at your age!”

The keeper truly does not seem to be at the end of his career – on the contrary. According to consistent reports, Neuer is considering extending his contract, which expires in the summer of 2026.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.