Jerome Boateng Admits No Player Can Replace Injury-Troubled German Star at World Cup
Jerome Boateng has revealed that he is desperate for Germany teammate Manuel Neuer to play in the upcoming World Cup in Russia.
Neuer has been out of the national side since a foot injury in September, but he has been named in Joachim Low's preliminary World Cup squad.
However, Low has a range of keepers at his disposal, and with Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Kevin Trapp both having played more games this season it will be hard for Neuer to convince the manager to start him from the off without pulling off something astounding in training.
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The 32-year-old was Germany's shot-stopper in the 2014 World Cup where Low's side cemented themselves as world champions, and Boateng is desperate to see his Bayern Munich teammate between the sticks, stating (via FourFourTwo): "It makes a difference whether Manuel Neuer is in goal or someone else.
"Manuel is the best goalkeeper in the world, the others are also very good, Marc-Andre ter Stegen has done very well, but Manu has a different charisma than anyone else. This is not a devaluation of the others at all, but Manu is just Manu."
Boateng also debunked rumours that the upcoming World Cup will be his last tournament with Germany, revealing: "I will not stop, because I have never won the European Championship in the [senior] team, only with the Under-21s."
Germany will be desperate to retain their world champions tag, and their first task will be getting out of the group - where they will face South Korea, Mexico and Sweden.
