Manuel Neuer is on the verge of returning to the Germany squad ahead of the World Cup, two years after retiring from international duty.The Bayern Munich goalkeeper, who turned 40 in March, retired from international duty following the 2024 European Championship, but is set to be included in Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament, due to be announced on Thursday.If selected, Neuer would be appearing at his fifth World Cup, having first played in South Africa in 2010, winning the tournament in 2014 in Brazil, and being part of the squads that suffered group stage exits in 2018 and 2022.Neuer has made 124 appearances for Germany and is the most capped goalkeeper in the country’s history.Should he play at this summer’s tournament, he would become the oldest player to represent the country, claiming a record that has been held by Lothar Matthaus — who played, aged 39, at the European Championship in 2000 — for 26 years.In February, Neuer ruled out the possibility of coming out of retirement to play for Germany.Neuer won the 2014 World Cup with his nation, one of eight major tournaments he featured in for Germany, and kept a clean sheet in the final victory over Argentina.The goalkeeper has won 34 major honours throughout his career, including the World Cup with Germany alongside two Champions League trophies with Bayern, in 2013 and 2020.The goalkeeper has had a good season for Bayern, where he signed a one-year contract extension and won this season’s Bundesliga and reached a Champions League semi-final.