👀 Neuer in Germany's World Cup squad after all? Nagelsmann reacts | OneFootball

For weeks, a possible DFB return for Manuel Neuer for the World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada has been a topic of discussion. 'Sky' reignited that debate today with breaking news right in the middle of FC Bayern’s celebrations. On Saturday evening, Julian Nagelsmann has now commented on the matter on the current sportstudio on 'ZDF'.

Speaking with Jochen Breyer, the national team coach was available to talk just a few hours after the end of the Bundesliga season, but gave few answers. 

"I’m not talking about player names today," said the DFB coach in general terms: "Every player who played a role during my time in office will get a phone call. Some, however, will receive bad news." 

He was also asked how far along he was with squad planning: "There are still a few details to clarify," said Nagelsmann. "A lot of players are relatively set. We don’t want to shake up the squad."

When explicitly asked about Neuer, Nagelsmann responded with a hint of irony: "I’m actually super surprised. I’m sticking to my opening point that I contact the player first. That hasn’t happened yet," said the national team coach with a broad grin. 

Asked about the 55-man preliminary squad list submitted to FIFA during the week, Nagelsmann replied: "It’s always mandatory to put all players with a German passport on the list. I haven’t even seen the list. My team manager sent it off. But my team manager is already asleep. We can’t call him anymore."

About Oliver Baumann, he said: "As of today, I’m very comfortable with the communication. What the media are speculating about is for them to assess."

Nagelsmann deliberately postponed the squad announcement until May 21. In closing, he said about the Neuer issue: "If I start commenting on certain topics just because all of Germany is discussing them, I’m not going to do that. The players will hear it from me transparently. Something big is coming on Thursday." 

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

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