Manuel Neuer is back. At 40, with four World Cups already behind him and a two-year international retirement in between, the Bayern Munich goalkeeper will start Germany's Group E opener against Curacao in Houston on Sunday — because Marc-Andre ter Stegen got injured and Julian Nagelsmann ran out of better options.
That's not a knock on Neuer. It's just the reality. He missed both warm-up games against Finland and the United States with a calf problem, so there's a fitness question mark sitting right behind Germany's opening-game odds. A goalkeeper returning from a minor injury, who hasn't played at this level in two years, against a side making their World Cup debut — it should be fine. But Germany have crashed out in the group stage at the last two tournaments, and they don't exactly have the luxury of shaky starts.
Curacao, for context, are the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup. Their coach, 78-year-old Dick Advocaat — ex-Rangers, Sunderland, Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea — becomes the oldest manager in World Cup history to take charge of a team. A genuinely remarkable footnote to a genuinely remarkable qualification story.
Partey blocked at the border
The Thomas Partey situation is uglier. Canada denied the Ghana midfielder entry to the country ahead of their Group opener against Panama in Toronto, citing his pending rape charges in the UK — seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, allegedly committed between 2020 and 2022. He has denied all charges. A trial is set for June 2027.
FIFA allowed him to participate in the tournament. Canada disagreed with that in practice. Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the move "high-handed and extremely unfair" and said it raised "fundamental questions of fairness and proportionality." Diplomatic conversations are ongoing ahead of the Panama match at BMO Field.
FIFA, predictably, washed its hands of the situation — confirming the Canadian government's decision while stressing it has no say in host country immigration policy. Whether Partey makes it to the England fixture in Boston on June 23 is now a diplomatic question as much as a football one.
Kansas City makes its case
On a lighter note: Kansas City is absolutely leaning into this. The city stepped in as a host after Chicago withdrew, invested close to $700 million in infrastructure, and has now landed England, Argentina, and the Netherlands all based in the same metro area.
"Kansas City has proudly earned its reputation as the Soccer Capital of America," said KC2026 chief executive Pam Kramer — a title the city is pushing hard. Around 25,000 fans gathered near the WWI Memorial and Museum to watch the USA's opening game against Paraguay on Friday, with Flo Rida, Sheryl Crow and The Chainsmokers headlining the Fan Festival.
And then there was Toronto, where Canada's opening 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina was bookended by the arrest of two men — both German nationals, associated with a Bosnian fan group — charged with assaulting a police officer. The Toronto Police Association's response on X was blunt: "Our holding cells do not have TVs. You will miss the game you came to enjoy."
The World Cup is very much underway.
