This World Cup hasn’t been Manuel Neuer’s tournament so far. The returning goalkeeper hasn’t had any opportunities to shine yet, and he didn’t exactly cover himself in glory in the 1-2 loss to Ecuador. He himself sees it differently.
Manuel Neuer could only be held partially responsible for the chaos that erupted in the German penalty area in the 73rd minute. The goalkeeper was largely blameless for the miscommunication with Jonathan Tah, as the Bayern defender knocked the ball away from him right in front of his hands. Five minutes later, however, in Germany’s third World Cup group stage match against Ecuador, the 2014 World Cup champion speculated that he could intercept the ball after a header extension by Rodriguez—but Gonzalo Plata was faster and outwitted Neuer to make the final score 2–1. A mistake. Or was it?
“Everyone knows I have to position myself like that for the ball”
Neuer entered the mixed zone at MetLife Stadium wearing shorts and a turquoise shirt and faced the reporters. However, he did not see himself as partly to blame for Ecuador’s winning goal. When asked if he blamed himself for the goal, he replied firmly: “Nope.” His reasoning: “It was a header extension, and I was trying to catch the ball.”
In defense, the goalkeeper goes on the offensive. “Anyone who’s ever played in goal knows that’s exactly how you have to position yourself for the ball.” His analogy: “It’s like when one field player goes for the ball and another gets a toe on it.” What he doesn’t say: Even with his field player analogy, people would argue that the loser of that duel was a split second too late.
Neuer nevertheless insists that, in the situation leading up to Ecuador’s well-deserved winning goal, there was no other way for him to handle it. “In that moment, I’m looking at the extension and what’s happening in front of me. I orient myself based on the extension and try to catch the ball, but of course I don’t see at all what’s happening behind me.” He is convinced: “If I start fumbling the ball around at nipple height, it might have resulted in an own goal. It’s a completely normal situation, and I make the decision in milliseconds.”
Julian Nagelsmann shares his goalkeeper’s perspective, seeing the entire defense’s behavior as the root cause of the goal. “We have to maintain our positioning; we have to stay in a sandwich formation.” As accurate as this analysis is—and as much as left back David Raum shares the blame for losing his header duel—one thing is also clear: The national team coach naturally wants to avoid any discussion about the goalkeeper he brought back despite Oliver Baumann’s strong World Cup qualifying performance. And who hasn’t quite found his footing in the tournament yet.
In the first two group stage matches, the only serious shots on goal were ones he couldn’t have prevented. On Thursday in New York, Neuer did make his first save of the tournament on Enner Valencia’s shot (62nd minute), but he was also at the center of the miscommunication and looked out of position on the second goal. Offensive defense or not.