(Photo credit: Kai Pfaffenbach-Reuters via Imagn Images)

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann had a surprise inclusion with 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer making the 26-man World Cup roster announced on Thursday.

Neuer retired from international play after the 2024 European Championship and the Bayern Munich legend said just last month that he did not intend to return for the 2026 World Cup. But he will now make his fifth World Cup appearance as the first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Hoffenheim's Oliver Baumann and Stuttgart's Alexander Nubel.

It was a surprise announcement from Nagelsmann, who is two years younger than Neuer. Baumann, 35, has made more than 500 Bundesliga appearances but has only 11 caps for Germany, compared to Neuer's 124.

Bayern Munich defender Joshua Kimmich will serve as Germany's captain. He will be joined on the team by the likes of Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala and forwards Deniz Undav (Stuttgart) and Kai Havertz (Arsenal). Musiala made the squad after recovering from a broken leg suffered during the 2025 Club World Cup.

Among the biggest surprises not to make the roster were Robert Andrich, Chris Fuhrich, Niclas Fullkrug and Anton Stach, who was on the roster for March internationals. Bayern forward Serge Gnabry will miss the World Cup due to injury, while Karim Adeyemi has also been dealing with an injury.

Germany, who were eliminated in the group stage of the past two World Cups, will play friendlies against Finland in Mainz, Germany, on May 31 and the United States in Chicago on June 6. The team's base camp will be at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Germany renting out the university's Graylyn Estate for a combined training and lodging site.

They begin Group E play against Curacao in Houston on June 14. They then face Ivory Coast in Toronto on June 20 followed by Ecuador in New Jersey on June 25.

GERMANY WORLD CUP ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)

Defenders: Joshua Kimmich (captain, Bayern Munich), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United)

Midfielders: Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Nadiem Amiri (Mainz), Pascal Gross (Brighton and Hove Albion)

Forwards: Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United), Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund)

--Field Level Media