He sits away from the team
DFB keeper has to go to the stands – that’s the reason
Updated June 14, 2026 – 1:40 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
When the kick-off of Germany’s opening World Cup game blows, the substitute players sit on the bench as usual. A player has to go to the stands instead.
After 709 days, Manuel Neuer returns to goal for the German national team. After his calf injury, the 40-year-old got fit in time for the DFB team’s start in the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. This means that Julian Nagelsmann’s entire squad is available for the duel against Curaçao: “All players are healthy and Manu will start,” the national coach confirmed in advance.
For Oliver Baumann, the decision initially means a step back to the bench. The TSG Hoffenheim goalkeeper was recently the German number one and guarded the goal in the last two friendly games against Finland (4:0) and the USA (2:1). The other 13 substitute players and substitute goalkeeper Alexander Nübel will sit next to him.
In the video | Nagelsmann speaks before the start of the World Cup
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A professional who is also part of the German squad has to sit in the stands away from his teammates: Jonas Urbig. Nagelsmann took the 22-year-old from FC Bayern to the USA as a training goalkeeper in addition to the 26-player squad. Although he is part of the DFB delegation, he is not part of the group of World Cup players registered by FIFA. Therefore, the Munich player is not with the team during the games and cannot play at the moment.
This is what differentiates Urbig from field players
However, a World Cup debut is not out of the question. According to FIFA regulations, goalkeepers can also be nominated later in the tournament if another goalkeeper is injured so badly that he can no longer play. So if comeback goalkeeper Neuer’s calf injury were to recur and the German record goalkeeper could no longer play, Urbig would be available as a replacement – as was the case recently with Bayern. Urbig could also move up to the official squad for Baumann and Nübel if injuries occur.
This is what sets him apart from field players. Subsequent nominations are no longer possible for Nagelsmann. The deadline expired 24 hours before kick-off of the Curaçao game.