Manuel Neuer makes retirement U-turn to start against Curacao at FIFA World Cup, confirms head coach Julien Nagelsmann

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has said that veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is fit and will start in the team's opening FIFA World Cup 2026 math against Curacao in Houston on Sunday.

Manuel Neuer had retired from international football in 2024 following Germany's loss to Spain in the quarter-final of the European Championships.

However, an impressive 2024-25 season with with Bayern Munich coupled with a serious injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen led Julian Nagelsmann to ask him to come out of retirement and return to the national setup.

"All the players are fit and Manu will start," Julian Nagelsmann said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Curacao match.

Overall, in the 2025-26 season, Neuer played 37 matches for Bayern Munich and kept 11 clean sheets, while also conceding 40 goals.

Following his impressive performances, Julian Nagelsmann recalled the 40-year-old to the national set-up for the FIFA World Cup and named him as the first-choice goalkeeper.

However, Neuer was sidelined with a calf injury in May, which forced him to miss the DFB Pokal final against Stuttgart. He also missed Germany's recent frienlies against Finland, which they won 4-0, and their 2-1 win over World Cup co-hosts USA in another friendly match.

Neuer has already tasted title victory in the FIFA World Cup, having won the tournament with Germany in 2014, when they defeated Lionel Messi's Argentina 1-0 in the final.

This will be Neuer's fifth FIFA World Cup. Curacao are one of the four debutants at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but Nagelsmann warned against taking them lightly. "This is a German Cup situation. David versus Goliath," the former RB Lepizig and Bayern Munich boss said.

"The Curacao players are all well-trained and can go into the tournament without pressure. That always makes an opponent dangerous," he said.

Nagelsmann vowed that his Germany side will try to give it their level best. "You never win a match just because you're favourites. We will win a match only if we produce a perfect performance. We're going to try to show our best level," he explained.

Apart from Curacao, Group E, the group that Germany are in, consists of Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament is being co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and for the first-ever time, the tournament features a record number of 48 teams.

The teams have been divided into 12 groups of four, and the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will qualify for the round of 32 stage.

After the match against Curacao, the four-time world champions will take on Ivory Coast (20 June) and Ecuador (25 June) in their last two group stage matches.