Manuel Neuer will captain the German national team at the World Cup in Qatar. The FC Bayern captain also has a special goalkeeping record in store.
The winter tournament in Qatar is Manuel Neuer’s fourth participation in a World Cup. If the 36-year-old stays fit after the shoulder problems of the past few weeks, the veteran will set a new World Cup record.
So far, the FC Bayern goalkeeper has played 16 games in the World Cup in his career. Neuer made six appearances on his debut in South Africa in 2010, and four years later the keeper was on the pitch in all seven of his triumphs in Brazil. Three games were added to the preliminary round in Russia in 2018.
At least three more games beckon for Neuer in Qatar. In Group E, the German national team meets Japan (November 23), Spain (November 27) and Costa Rica (December 1).
In the last group game, Neuer would celebrate his 19th World Cup appearance and set a new goalkeeping record. To date, DFB legend Sepp Maier and Brazilian Claudio Taffarel have been at the top of these statistics. Incidentally, the outfield player with the most World Cup games is Lothar Matthäus (25), who has played one game more than Miroslav Klose (24).
Neuer fit in time for the World Cup
While the Matthew record is no longer achievable, Neuer should at least overtake the two goalkeeper icons at the World Cup in Qatar. The German captain recovered in time for the tournament after persistent shoulder problems.
In the only friendly against Oman (1-0), the FC Bayern superstar was on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.
At the German World Cup opener against Japan, Neuer wants to keep the zero again. “We have to be warned. For me personally, the first game in a tournament is always the most important,” said the Munich player recently to the “Mediengruppe Münchner Merkur/tz” and warned: “Japan is an unpleasant team that plays very disciplined.”