Germany's returning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will miss the first World Cup warm-up against Finland on Sunday due to a minor calf injury, coach Julian Nagelsmann said as all but one of the squad gathered for a training camp.
Neuer was coaxed out of international retirement for the tournament in North America from June 11-July 19. But he was injured playing for Bayern Munich in the last match of the Bundesliga season and skipped the German Cup final win over VfB Stuttgart last Saturday.
"We decided with the coaching team that he will not play on Sunday," Nagelsmann told a news conference on Wednesday at their Bavarian base in Herzogenaurach, adding that it was simply out of an abundance of caution.
"With Manu we are better than without Manu, which is why we are very glad that he is with us," the coach added about the 2014 World Cup winner, who initially quit the national team on 124 caps after Euro 2024. "He is not a newcomer."
Oliver Baumann, who had been set to be Germany's number one at the World Cup before Neuer's dramatic return, will start against Finland in Mainz.
"Olli will play. He will do it well, he will play a good match," Nagelsmann said.
All available 26 Germany players reported for duty on Wednesday, including training goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, and were greeted by around two dozen fans.
Only Kai Havertz was missing. The Arsenal forward is preparing with his club for the Champions League final on Saturday in Budapest against Paris Saint-Germain. The 26-year-old will fly directly to Chicago on Tuesday and join the Germany team there.
Before travelling to the US next week, Germany want to lay the first foundations for a successful run at the expanded tournament on familiar home ground near Nuremberg.
The first training session is scheduled for Thursday.
Team spirit is "fundamental" for a successful World Cup, said team director and 1990 World Cup winner Rudi Völler.
Two days after the Finland game, the squad travel to Chicago, where co-hosts the US will be the final friendly opponents on June 6 before the big event starts.
In Group E, Germany face debutants Curaçao on June 14 in Houston, Ivory Coast on June 20 in Toronto and Ecuador on June 25 in East Rutherford.
Team to stay away from political debates
Germany sporting director Völler stressed that the team won't get involved in any political debate during the tournament.
"We won't see any more of that, people launching campaigns or giving interviews right before a game," he said in view of the debate over the captain armband with the rainbow colours at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
The use of such armband was banned by FIFA in Qatar. Before the match against Japan, the German players covered their mouths in a protest against the host country's policies.
Germany lost that game 2-1 and were eliminated in the group stage for a second consecutive year. The players were widely criticized and accused of letting politics get in the way of football.
It would be wise to keep politics and football "somewhat separate," Völler said.
He stressed, however, that this doesn't mean the team doesn't care about political issues.
"There are many things in the world that none of us like. I, too, would prefer to see more peace everywhere," he said.
"But football can't solve that. We're here to play in the World Cup. That comes first."
