Manuel Neuer’s controversial recall to the Germany squad has gone down badly with a number of pundits.
The Bayern Munich captain has been included for the 2026 World Cup two years on from retirement and an alleged falling out with Julian Nagelsmann.
Nagelsmann since guaranteed Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann that he would be his number one, but reversed that decision in recent weeks.
Responding to the call, Germany great and Bayern legend Markus Babbel summed up the criticism of Nagelsmann.
“The way they communicate is a disaster,” he began.
“This beating around the bush from the very beginning is driving us crazy about our national coach.
“Because you want clear instructions – and every player feels the same way.”
On Baumann, he continued: “If I still don’t have confidence in him, then I’ll know that beforehand, not 14 days before the announcement.
“What if Neuer gets injured again? Then Baumann is good enough, right? Nobody can take him seriously anymore.
“Hats off to Oli Baumann for still wanting to go to the World Cup and accepting it.
“I would probably have reacted differently and said: If you don’t trust me, then you can do your own damn thing.”
Yet despite the communication ‘disaster’ around Neuer’s recall, Babbel admitted it was the right decision.
“Bringing Neuer back as number 1 is the right decision; there’s no question about it for me. He’s still outstanding,” he said.
“Surely no one can tell me that Nagelsmann only realised last week: ‘Wow, Neuer’s actually in great form.’”
Germany 2026 World Cup squad
GOALKEEPERS: Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart)
DEFENCE/MIDFIELD: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United)
ATTACK: Nadiem Amiri (FSV Mainz 05), Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (FC Arsenal), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamie Leweling (VfB Stuttgart), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sané (Galatasaray Istanbul), Deniz Undav (VfB Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (FC Liverpool), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United)
Nagelsmann defends choices
Giving his take on the national team’s communication, Nagelsmann commented: “Generally, I’m quite happy with my communication for the most part. But there are always things you look at in retrospect and think, ‘I could have done that better.’
“That doesn’t mean, however, that a different approach would have actually led to a better result.
“Of course, in a conversation in March, you try to be clear and straightforward, but only about the things you know for sure and the things you’re planning.
“But in football, things can change in two or three weeks. You can’t always foresee everything eight weeks in advance.
“I always try to be honest with the players. But you can always debate whether it was the perfect way in the end. I don’t know.”
On Neuer vs Baumann, he added: “What Manu has, I don’t have, and Oli has it to a lesser extent as well.
“He’s won an incredible number of titles and simply has an aura, an extremely big name.
“I made sure that Oli wouldn’t feel demoted. Manu has something that surrounds him because of his success, which also helps the team.
“If he ends up playing a lot of games, we’ll be happy, but if he misses a game because of problems, that can happen. Then we have Oli as a goalkeeper who will do just as well.”
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