"I'd ring him myself!" - Advice for Baumann on the goalkeeper issue

Hamburger SV v TSG Hoffenheim - Bundesliga

With the World Cup just weeks away, the DFB squad's goalkeeping spot is still up for grabs, prompting Stefan Effenberg to offer some advice to Oliver Baumann.

Who will be Germany's number one at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada? It is arguably the most hotly debated question in German football at the moment – and former international Stefan Effenberg wants Oliver Baumann to seize the initiative in his duel with Manuel Neuer.

"I'm going into pre-season and then the World Cup with a lot of confidence. He's put his faith in me. Full stop," the TSG Hoffenheim goalkeeper told Sky on Saturday afternoon, after the 4-0 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Just a few hours later, however, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann stopped short of confirming the move, telling ZDF Sportstudio, "I stick to my initial stance that I will speak to the players first. The player is always contacted first; that hasn't happened yet."

Sky had earlier reported that Neuer would return to the squad after announcing his international retirement following the 2024 European Championship on home soil, with Neuer, Nagelsmann and DFB sporting director Rudi Völler said to have agreed on the move.

"There is a set date to announce the squad. If I start anticipating and announcing things simply because I feel pressured and Germany is discussing certain issues, then I am not assessing everything I see," Nagelsmann said, emphasising that "every player has the right to receive the information from me. I am not about to let the situation dictate my actions." The national coach also stressed that he has "always handled communication with the players very carefully to date".

Oliver Kahn expects Baumann to be the first-choice goalkeeper

Uncertainty still surrounds the goalkeeping situation in the German national team, a problem both former international keepers Oliver Kahn and Effenberg highlighted on Sport1's *Doppelpass*. "If I were in Oliver Baumann's shoes, I'd pick up the phone right now and ring Julian Nagelsmann myself," explained Effenberg, adding that he would "then also speak out publicly accordingly".

Following Neuer's recent strong performances and his contract extension at FC Bayern until 2027, the goalkeeper is now "available" according to journalist Tobias Holtkamp—a scenario that only became clear recently—leaving Nagelsmann in a tricky position.

"Where on earth is this leading us?" Kahn replied. "Ultimately, it is the national team manager who makes the decisions, not the player. And he has said we are going into the World Cup with Oliver Baumann as number one – at least that is how I understood it."

That is why the former keeper backs Baumann: "He hasn't done anything wrong. He deserves to be number one," Kahn insists.

Nagelsmann will announce the squad on Thursday

Nagelsmann will announce his 26-man squad on Thursday at the DFB Campus in Frankfurt am Main. Until then, he says he plans to make "62 phone calls". He may also wait for the results of Neuer's MRI scan. The Munich-born goalkeeper was substituted in the second half of the 5–1 win against 1. FC Köln because of calf problems.

Neuer had retired from the DFB squad after the quarter-final exit against Spain and 124 caps. He would have been playing in his fifth World Cup at the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada (11 June to 19 July). Neuer won the World Cup with Germany in Brazil in 2014, but the Bayern Munich goalkeeper also suffered two huge disappointments in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, with the team being knocked out in the group stage on both occasions.