Last World Cup test
Manuel Neuer probably not in the starting line-up
Updated June 5, 2026 – 11:32 amReading time: 2 minutes
The Arsenal FC attacker will take his reserved regular place. The World Cup dress rehearsal probably comes too early for returning Neuer.
From Champions League disappointment to World Cup mode: National soccer player Kai Havertz will probably be in national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s starting line-up at the tournament dress rehearsal against the USA on Saturday (8:30 p.m. CEST/RTL) in Chicago. Most recently, the attacker, who is supposed to play as a center forward at the World Cup, was missing because of the premier class final. In Budapest, he lost with Arsenal FC against Paris Saint-Germain (3:4 on penalties) despite his opening goal.
Meanwhile, Manuel Neuer will probably have to wait for his return. On Thursday, the 2014 world champion goalkeeper was still under pressure and Oliver Baumann was expected to replace him again. Neuer (40) had already had to postpone his planned comeback in the friendly against Finland (4-0), and Baumann was also in goal there because of his calf injury.
In the video | This woman supports Manuel Neuer
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Havertz representative Deniz Undav is likely to return to the bench despite his strong performance last Sunday. The Stuttgart player scored twice, was then substituted with a slight injury, but quickly gave the all-clear.
Pointer for the first match
The previously injured Felix Nmecha and Lennart Karl could also get more match practice after good performances against Finland in the last World Cup test. On the left side of the defense, David Raum, who was recently injured, should again replace Nathaniel Brown. It would be a pointer towards the starting lineup for the World Cup opener against Curaçao on June 14th.
The expected lineups:
USA: Freese/New York City FC (27 years/14 international matches) – Freeman/FC Villarreal (21/16), McKenzie/FC Toulouse (27/28), Ream/Charlotte FC (38/81) – Dest/PSV Eindhoven (25/38), McKennie/Juventus Turin (27/65), Adams/AFC Bournemouth (27/53), Robinson/FC Fulham (28/52) – Tillman/Bayer Leverkusen (24/29), Pulisic/AC Milan (27/85) – Balogun/AS Monaco (24/26). – Coach: Pochettino
Germany: Baumann/TSG Hoffenheim (36/12) – Kimmich/Bayern Munich (31/109), Tah/Bayern Munich (30/46), Schlotterbeck/Borussia Dortmund (26/26), Raum/RB Leipzig (28/36) – Pavlović/Bayern Munich (22/10), Nmecha/Borussia Dortmund (25/7) – Karl/Bayern Munich (18/3), Musiala/Bayern Munich (23/41), Wirtz/FC Liverpool (23/40) – Havertz/FC Arsenal (26/57) – Coach: Nagelsmann