The ghosts of 2014 and Jürgen Klopp dominate the debate, leaving Julian Nagelsmann’s side caught between nostalgia and renewal“No, please, stop with this nonsense,” snapped Julian Nagelsmann. Germany had just lost 2-1 to Ecuador in their final group game and the television interviewer was suggesting that with Germany already qualified, perhaps the Ecuadoreans had simply wanted it more. “They didn’t want it more,” Nagelsmann bristled. “I cannot tell any of my players that they didn’t give it their all. That’s far too simplistic.”If that was the line, then fair enough. Albeit, a line Nagelsmann may have wanted to run past his players before they did their post-match media duties. “The difference today was that the opponent wanted to win more than us,” said Joshua Kimmich. “I had the feeling they wanted it more than us,” said the substitute Deniz Undav. Continue reading...

It was not long ago that his manager Julian Nagelsmann called him out openly - but Deniz Undav is proving himself a key player for Germany at the World Cup.

For the first time in more than a decade, Germany will play in the World Cup knockout stages. Their 2-1 victory at the death over Côte d’Ivoire in a lively tie here on Saturday saw to that. Franck Kessié’s 30th-minute goal for Les Éléphants was cancelled out by Deniz Undav’s 68th-minute equaliser and 94th-minute winner for Die Mannschaft.The victory put the four-time world champions on six points, although the youngest team at this tournament gave the Germans a far tougher test than in the 7-1 crunching of Curaçao six days ago. Continue reading...

⚽️ Kick-off time: 8pm local/3am BST/10pm EDT/12pm AEST⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail JonathanHow have these early matches affected your Bracketology? Germany up, Brazil down?The opening game of the matchday saw Germany demolish debutants Curacao 7-1 in Houston.Germany will surely reach the knockouts this time and could have made absolutely certain by adding several more. Nagelsmann will be pleased that threats emanated from all around the pitch, half a dozen scorers bearing testament to that, but it should go without saying that more accurate tests of strength will have to be navigated over the next month. Kai Havertz, rounding things off neatly with his second goal, will hope to be similarly efficient later on. Continue reading...

Julian Nagelsmann will rely on a Bayern-based core, but individual class is in worryingly short supplyThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. Continue reading...

Veterans such as Messi and Modric are much in evidence at the finals, but an obsession with celebrity may undermine PortugalIt turns out that 2022 wasn’t Lionel Messi’s last dance after all. He will turn 39 during the World Cup, but despite concerns over the “muscular overload” that led to him limping out of Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union on Sunday, he remains the figure on whom Argentinian hopes rely.Messi won’t be the only veteran in Canada, the US and Mexico: Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, will also be there – inevitably, given how his career and Messi’s seem inextricably bound. So will Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko, plus the goalkeepers Manuel Neuer, Craig Gordon, Guillermo Ochoa and Vozinha, all of whom are 40. And there is one 39-year-old other than Messi: the Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo. Continue reading...

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer comes out of international retirement to be named in Germany's squad for the 2026 World Cup, with manager Julian Nagelsmann saying the 40-year-old will be his team's number one for the tournament.

Julian Nagelsmann includes 40-year-old in 26-man squad‘We want to become world champions’, says head coachBayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer has come out of international retirement after being named on Thursday as the starting goalkeeper in Germany’s World Cup squad by head coach Julian Nagelsmann. Nagelsmann made the decision after having long labelled Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann as his first-choice keeper.“Yes I plan with [Neuer as No 1],” Nagelsmann said on Thursday. “The main task was to nominate the best three keepers. So we decided that these three are part of that. We contacted Manuel and asked him if he wanted to play for the national team again.” Continue reading...

Celtic join the list of clubs keeping tabs on an Austrian goalkeeper compared to Manuel Neuer, while midfielder Benjamin Nygren is a target for a move this summer.

This week’s quarter-finals provided some classic action as this season’s competition hurtles towards its conclusionBayern Munich had not won at the Santiago Bernabéu since May 2001, when they beat Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final on their way to becoming European champions. . Tuesday night’s match changed all that. The 29th Champions League meeting between the teams lived up to its heavyweight billing, though Bayern, superior on the night, may rue their failure to add to their 2-1 lead. Real Madrid meanwhile could point to Manuel Neuer making nine saves – not bad for a 40-year-old. “We won’t win the competition without more of these kinds of performances,” said Bayern manager Vincent Kompany of his keeper. Big trophies are rarely won without great goalkeepers and Neuer continues to play like an all-time great. Bayern’s second goal was a trademark finish from Harry Kane, who made the difficult look easy. The goal will also have calmed England fans’ fears that their captain will arrive at the World Cup suffering from his usual summer malaise. A word too for Luis Díaz and Michael Olise, Bayern’s brilliant wingers whose performances brought back memories of the club’s modern greats Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. Kompany’s team were commanding in Madrid, but may fear the backlash from the 15-times champions, the kings of comebacks. Continue reading...