Football
Mark Lovell, Bayern Munich blogger 6y

Germany's Manuel Neuer: I have no pain in foot as World Cup begins

Manuel Neuer said he is pain-free and feeling positive as Germany prepare to begin their World Cup defence against Mexico on Sunday.

Neuer, the Bayern Munich goalkeeper, broke his left foot three times since March 2017 and made only three Bundesliga appearances this past season.

He made his comeback in Germany's 2-1 defeat to Austria on June 2 after more than eight months out through injury and remains confident that his lengthy absence from competitive football would not hinder his team's chances in Russia.

"I'm in good spirits and have absolutely no pain, problems nor disbalance," he told ARD.

"I got the green light from the doctors and always remained very positive in the past and managed to increase my workload step by step."


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Germany edged past Saudi Arabia 2-1 in their final warm-up game and Russia thrashed the same opponents 5-0 in the opening game on Thursday.

But Neuer doesn't believe Germany need to be overly worried about their current form, stressing that they are a "tournament team," before saying that "you cannot compare warm-ups with World Cup games."

"We have to maintain high levels of concentration, remain compact and ensure we don't give the ball away too often," Neuer said.

"We have to avoid getting caught on the counter attack."

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