Germany’s opening two dress rehearsals ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ come this month against Ghana and Switzerland. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has confirmed that he does not intend to run any sizeable experiments and indeed that he has more or less settled on his starting XI for the competition.
Importantly, this suggests that the debate that once raged around who will wear the gloves for Die Mannschaft at this year’s global extravaganza is done and dusted. In a country that was long spoilt for choice between the sticks, question marks had been hovering following Manuel Neuer’s international retirement two years ago and Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s persistent fitness struggles. Now, however, it looks for all the world like Oliver Baumann has won the race on the strength of his consistently top-class displays in recent years.
Despite a lack of silverware and big-club pedigree, the 35-year-old Hoffenheim icon is not entirely devoid of major-tournament experience, having been part of the Germany squad at UEFA EURO 2024, where he played third fiddle to Neuer and Ter Stegen. When Neuer called time on his national-team career, the stage was set for Ter Stegen to at long last step out of his shadow, with Baumann moving up a rung to first understudy. However, a never-ending injury ordeal appears to have shattered the former Borussia Monchengladbach netminder’s FIFA World Cup™ dreams.
After being frozen out at Barcelona following a lengthy lay-off with a knee problem, Ter Stegen moved to Girona on loan in January with the express aim of enhancing his prospects ahead of the World Cup. Instead, he sustained another injury, this time to his left hamstring. “Marc-Andre was working his way back after a year on the sidelines and now he’s out again,” noted Nagelsmann. “On paper, he’d be nailed on for the squad, but it has to make sense for both us and him.” Therefore, while the door remains slightly ajar, time certainly seems to be running out for the six-time La Liga champion.
Against this backdrop, all eyes are now on Baumann, who – after kicking his heels as an unused substitute for Germany on no fewer than 26 occasions – finally won his maiden cap in October 2024, becoming the country’s third-oldest debutant ever in the process. The seasoned campaigner has barely looked back since, grabbing his opportunity with both hands.
The Freiburg youth product has been richly rewarded for his perseverance and professionalism. “If you think you’ve made it, it’s all too easy to take your eye off the ball,” he once said about his relentless work ethic, which has become the stuff of legend at current club Hoffenheim. “I’m able to find fresh motivation every day because I’m someone who strives for perfection.”
Baumann was ever-present for Die Mannschaft in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and hardly put a foot (or hand) wrong, notably keeping clean sheets in the last four of those matches. His rise in stature was epitomised when he was handed the captain’s armband during the closing exchanges of a 2-0 win in Luxembourg. Meanwhile, he has continued to press his case with his performances week in, week out for Hoffenheim, where, in Nagelsmann’s words, he is having “another outstanding season.”
In a further boost for Baumann, two of his predecessors between the posts for Germany are backing him to get the nod. “As far as I’m concerned, the goalkeeper position is absolutely not a talking point. Baumann fully deserves to play at the World Cup,” argued Rene Adler, who had been in line to start for Joachim Low’s side at South Africa 2010, only for his hopes to be cruelly dashed by injury.
In the aftermath of that tournament, Adler found his opportunities for Germany limited as – in a story to which Baumann can surely relate – his form at club level remained impressive but he repeatedly ran into an immovable obstacle in the shape of Neuer. Speaking of Neuer, the Bayern bastion recently echoed Adler’s sentiments, stressing that Baumann “is the first choice now and has done a great job.”
Among the Hoffenheim glovesman’s most highly rated attributes are his down-to-earth, composed character, his awareness and intelligent positioning – which allow him to cut out danger before it develops – and his penalty-saving prowess. The last of those qualities bodes particularly well ahead of the competition in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Baumann will celebrate his 36th birthday on 2 June, just 12 days before he is expected to make his bow on the biggest stage of all, where he will look to live up to an illustrious legacy. From Sepp Maier to Bodo Illgner, Oliver Kahn and that man Neuer, a gaggle of goalkeepers have gone down in history for their heroics in a German shirt at the World Cup. If the evergreen shot-stopper can deliver the goods in North America, he could yet belatedly join these luminaries in the German football pantheon.
