Müller criticises 'questionalble' communication in Neuer return

Former Germany star Thomas Müller has welcomed the return of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into the team for the World Cup but said that coach Julian Nagelsmann could have communicated the issue in a better way.

"The debate naturally got heated because the way it was communicated was questionable,” Müller told the ran portal in an interview published on Tuesday.

Müller and Neuer won the World Cup together in 2014 and were long-time team-mates at Bayern Munich before Müller left for the Vancouver Whitecaps last year.

Neuer retired from the national team in 2024. Oliver Baumann played in all qualifiers and March friendlies and was effectively declared first choice by Nagelsmann for the World Cup.

But Nagelsmann then recalled Neuer and made him number one for the tournament Germany start on Sunday against Curaçao. Neuer missed the two tune-up games against Finland and the US with a calf injury but returned to team training on Monday.

“From a sporting point of view, I can understand it,” Müller said of Neuer's return.

“What really sets Manu apart is simply his positioning, his footwork and the way he positions himself.”

Müller added that even if Neuer can't play after all on Sunday "we don’t need to worry at all, because we’ve seen it: Oli Baumann is not only excellent in terms of his goalkeeping skills, but also mentally – if Manu can’t play, then he’s there."

Looking at Germany's chances at the June 11-July 19 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Müller said that they are "not an underdog; we can beat a top-tier team.

"But the fact is, the team and the individual players aren’t currently at that top, top, top where you can say, ‘If we face a top-tier team, we’ll win four times out of five.’ At the moment, it’s perhaps the other way round."