If Julian Nagelsmann is consistent when it comes to goalkeeping, there will be no way around Marc-Andre ter Stegen as number one at the European Championships.
by Tobias Wiltschek
An official decision has not yet been made as to who will be in the German goal at the home European Championships next summer.
Internally, it is said that Julian Nagelsmann favors Manuel Neuer.
If that is really the case, the national coach is strongly advised to reconsider his decision carefully.
Because Neuer’s competitor Marc-Andre ter Stegen shows week after week that he has lost none of his class since his last appearances for the German national team last autumn.
The most important thing about the DFB team
Quite the opposite! Since he was back in the FC Barcelona squad after recovering from back surgery, the 31-year-old has once again radiated the confidence and quick reactions that have made him one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.
He dispelled any remaining doubts with a world-class performance in the league game against Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Anyone who saw him there can only come to one conclusion: This goalkeeper should not be allowed to sit on the substitutes’ bench at a European Championship.
The fact that the Catalans defeated their opponents with a clear 3-0 in the league clash in the capital was not least due to the German’s sometimes unbelievable saves – crowned by the double rescue operation against Marcos Llorente and Memphis Depay after just under an hour.
In doing so, he destroyed the “Rojiblancos”‘s last hopes of a comeback when the score was 0-2.
Barcelona cannot be beaten with Ter Stegen
Ter Stegen not only does his job extremely well in goal, he also has a positive influence on the entire team. Since he was back in goal, his team has not lost a single game – neither in La Liga nor in the Champions League.
He conceded a total of six goals during this time. If you leave out the first game after his operation, he only had to go behind three times in seven games.
A record that Neuer would also like to show. But the reality looks completely different for the Bayern keeper. In his last eight games he has conceded 13 goals – more than twice as many as his rival Ter Stegen.
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He can certainly only be directly blamed for a few goals. But Neuer has not yet appeared completely confident since his return after an eleven-month injury break. The best example: his sloppy pass a few weeks ago in the game against Mönchengladbach, which led to the 0-1.
Admittedly, he is playing almost flawlessly in the Champions League this season. But is that enough to be number one in the national team again?
Neuer’s last appearances in the DFB jersey were not worthy of the European Championship
Doubts are definitely warranted. Because what the German fans recently saw from Neuer in the DFB team’s goal was not suitable for the European Championship!
He played his last international matches to date at the 2022 World Cup, when the German team bowed out after just three preliminary round games. The fact that the tournament in Qatar was over so quickly was also due to Neuer and his unusual weaknesses.
Even back then he revealed a lack of concentration in the build-up game. What was more important, however, was that he missed both goals in the opening defeat against Japan, thus ushering in Germany’s early exit.
Ter Stegen was later unable to prevent one or two defeats for the DFB team, but overall he represented Neuer impeccably in goal and was then able to have legitimate hopes of remaining number one even after his rival’s comeback.
Nagelsmann has sent a clear message with his squad for the upcoming test matches against France and the Netherlands: strength of form must count for more than previous merits.
Mats Hummels, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Julian Brandt have already fallen victim to this approach.
If the national coach wants to be as rigorous and consistent when it comes to goalkeeping, he has to make Ter Stegen number one and put Neuer on the bench!