Alexander Nübel and Oliver Baumann to battle it out for Germany’s number one spot

TZ München reports that Manuel Neuer is currently sticking to his decision to retire from international football, ruling out a potential return to the German national team.

This now means that Germany and Julian Nagelsmann has a goalkeeping dilemma for the upcoming international break, whether he goes for experience or youth to replace the injury Marc-André ter Stegen. 

VfB Stuttgart’s Alexander Nübel and Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann will battle it out for number one in the upcoming international break for their first cap for the national team.

Baumann offers experience in the net but has been in a struggling Hoffenheim team at the start of the season, compare that to Nübel who will likely be ter Stegen’s replacement when the Barcelona keeper eventually retires and is also playing at a Stuttgart side who have begun to hit their stride. Fulham’s Bernd Leno is and outsider as he has not been called up to the German national team for a while and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp is out injured. 

It also cannot be ruled out that Nagelsmann decides to give both Nübel and Baumann and a chance in their October games. In the October break, Germany travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina and also host the Netherlands in Munich for the Nations League. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan