Neuer confirms Germany retirement after World Cup
Manuel Neuer has confirmed he will retire from international football after the 2026 World Cup.
The goalkeeper initially called time on his Germany career after his home Euros in 2024, but reversed the decision ahead of this summer’s competition.
Aged 40 years and 79 days, Neuer became Germany’s oldest ever appearance maker at a major tournament in their win over Curacao, surpassing Lothar Matthaus, who was 39 years and 91 days old against Portugal in the group stage of Euro 2000.
Neuer also made his 20th World Cup appearance – just the second goalkeeper to hit that tally, after France’s Hugo Lloris (also 20).
Indeed, it was Neuer’s 40th major tournament game for Germany, making him the second European player to reach that figure, after Cristiano Ronaldo (52).
Despite his decision to return to the Germany setup, Neuer confirmed this will be his last tournament for his country.
“I stepped back in 2024 with a good reason after a good home Euro. For me it was the right decision. It felt right,” Neuer told a press conference.
“It would have been too much of a sporting burden for me (to have kept playing for the national team) for the last two years.
“For me it is clear that this is my last tournament. I do not plan to be there in two years time for the next Euro.
“In the last days I have dealt with the fact that these are the last games for Germany. But I want to look forward to all the games and not to any goodbye shirts.”
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Following their 7-1 thrashing of Curacao, Germany are looking to win their first two games of a World Cup finals for the first time since 2006, when they beat Costa Rica and Poland.
A win over Ivory Coast on Saturday will see them book their place in the knockout rounds, something they have not done since 2014, when they won the competition.
“This is our goal. We have everything in our own hands. We don’t want to look back at past World Cups,” Neuer said.
“The team does not deal with that. We look at the next step and the next step is Ivory Coast.
“To qualify after the second game would be special and would allow us to look a bit further ahead.”
