Germany coach Joachim Loew has confirmed that Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is ready to start the opening match of the World Cup 2014 against Portugal. The 26-year-old has been suffering from a shoulder injury in recent weeks, but he has recovered sufficiently in order to start this match. It will be very important that Germany get a victory from this encounter. They are in a tough group and anything other than a victory will allow their rivals like Ghana and USA to take an advantage in the remaining two matches.
Neuer has been the number one goalkeeper for the German national team in the last four years. This is one of the areas where Loew has least problems, but a few days ago, it appeared that it would become a major headache for him. Even though he has a lot of good deputies at his disposal, Loew will struggle to find a replacement for Neuer, who is extremely good at bringing the ball out of defence despite being a goalkeeper. The Bayern Munich man comes on the back of a title winning season with Bayern Munich after he helped them lift the league and the German cup.
Another injury worries for the German national team include the likes of Philipp Lahm, who has been struggling with an ankle injury. Because of the heat, Loew says that substitutes will have a key role to play in this tournament. In this situation, Germany are well covered due to the strength in depth despite the recent injuries to players like Marco Reus. The Borussia Dortmund man had to withdraw after sustaining an injury against Armenia.
“The injury situation is causing me less and less concern. Manuel Neuer took part in training today and he is ready to go on Monday,” said the German national team boss.