Manuel Neuer equals awful World Cup record in Germany's elimination match to end his international career

In what will be his last appearance at a World Cup, coming out of retirement as a controversial inclusion for this year, Manual Neuer ends his Germany career by equalling an awful, unwanted record.

Eyebrows were raised in Germany when head coach Julien Nagelsmann named a 40-year-old Neuer in his squad for the World Cup, having originally retired in 2024 after the Euros.

With 124 caps to his name, Neuer nabbed the number one spot from the grasp of Oliver Baumann, leaving Alexander Nubel as the third choice.

The selection has quickly become one that Nagelsmann might come to regret in the coming days, as he reels from a shocking exit from the 2026 World Cup.

Germany's imperious record on penalty shootouts was finally beaten by unlikely candidates Paraguay, as the four-time winners crashed out in the Round of 32 stage.

But Germany didn't lose the tournament on the jackpot decider of penalties, as it could have been avoided with some more defensive solidity, a common theme for Die Mannschaft in each of the last three World Cup tournaments.

In fact, they have failed to keep the ball out of their net in every game this World Cup, much akin to the trip to Qatar four years ago.

That defensive fragility has now seen Manuel Neuer equal the unwanted record for the most consecutive games without a clean sheet in World Cup history.

Manuel Neuer concedes in ten World Cup games to equal worst record ever

In what should have been a routine win for Germany, a 42nd-minute bullet header from Julio Enciso put Paraguay ahead and marked the tenth consecutive tournament game in which they had conceded a goal.

In fact, since their famous 2014 World Cup Final win against Argentina in Russia, Neuer and his defence have conceded in every game.

Opponents South Korea, Sweden, and Mexico all scored as they dumped the defending champions out in the group stage of 2018. History repeated itself in Qatar with Japan, Spain, and Costa Rica all netting against them as they failed to escape the group again.

This time around, Germany did progress from the group, but goals against Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, and Paraguay added to their woes.

Neuer joins Antonio Carbajal (Mexico, 1950-1962) as the only goalkeepers to ever concede in ten straight World Cup games.

Both keepers sit above Thomas Ravelli (Sweden 1990-1994) on nine, and iconic shotstopper Jorge Campos (Mexico 1994-98) on eight consecutive goal-conceding games.

No goalkeeper in the 21st century has managed more than seven games in a row without a single clean sheet.

It's a problem that Germany really needs to sort out. There's no doubt that the squad will look better in 2030 with the likes of Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, and Lennart Karl hoping to kick on and find their prime form in the attacking midfield areas, but at the back, there is work to do.