Start of the World Cup season: Number 1 question in the DFB team: Ena Mahmutovic is pushing

Immediately before goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic made her DFB debut in December 2024, national coach Christian Wück had already declared: “She shouldn’t imagine that this game today will influence her national team career.” The 2-1 defeat against Italy in Bochum, for which she was partly to blame, did not throw the former Duisburg player off course.

She still had to line up behind goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger for a long time. But now there is movement in the goalkeeper question in the selection of German footballers. Mahmutovic is now a confident regular goalkeeper at FC Bayern - and her club also sees the 22-year-old as the future German number 1. "Ena is the future of the national team," said Bayern director Bianca Rech recently. She belongs “not just to be nominated”.

Wück's number 1 so far is still Berger. But the 35-year-old from US club Gotham FC is missing in the two international matches against Australia on Friday (8.30 p.m./ZDF) in Karlsruhe and against Japan on the following Tuesday (5.45 p.m./ARD). And a lot can still happen in the months leading up to the World Cup in Brazil next summer (June 24 to July 25, 2027). An overview of the situation between the posts:

What is the situation with Ann-Katrin Berger?

The Olympic heroine and “Footballer of the Year” for 2024 and 2025 is taking a break from the DFB. “Back then, when it was a question of whether she wanted to continue after the European Championships, whether she felt fit enough, whether she still felt that fire - it was already clear that she would want to miss a course at some point,” explained the national coach. “This is the time because it is in the hot phase of the league in America.” In any case, Berger is “still a step ahead” of her competitors.

What speaks for Ena Mahmutovic?

Wück now sees the opportunity “for the young goalkeepers who are behind to get international matches”. The 53-year-old is calm about Rech's demands. After all, every club wants to see its players in the national team. “At the moment, of course, Ena’s performance in the club and in the Champions League is very good. She also played the last game against Slovenia,” said Wück.

Mahmutovic also impressed in training. “She will get her playing time now. I would also like to discuss with (goalkeeping coach) Michael Fuchs whether she will play both games,” announced the DFB head coach. The 1.77 meter tall footballer has played two international matches so far.

Where is Stina Johannes?

The 26-year-old from VfL Wolfsburg made a mistake in the Supercup against Bayern (0:3) and hasn't always shown top performances recently, as Wück also confirmed. “That’s right, we have a different claim. She also has different demands, I know that from Stina,” he admitted. At the same time, he emphasized: "She kept a clean sheet for us in the semi-finals of the Nations League against France and played a big part in us getting to the final."

You have to allow a goalkeeper to have a weak phase from time to time. «I know what's inside Stina. If I didn't know that, if I didn't have the trust, we wouldn't have nominated them," said the national coach.

Who else is there?

Laura Dick from TSG Hoffenheim has been nominated as the third goalkeeper for the start of the World Cup season. Maria Luisa “Mala” Grohs (25) is in waiting position. Mahmutovic's former rival at FC Bayern is now between the posts at the French top club Olympique Lyon. She is part of the German U23 squad.

Real Madrid also has a German goalkeeper: Former DFB regular goalkeeper Merle Frohms (31/previously Wolfsburg) resigned from the national team in 2024 after former head coach Horst Hrubesch gave preference to Berger at the Olympic Games. The once highly rated Sophia Winkler made her debut in the Wück team in 2024. But after a forced break of over a year and a half due to a serious knee injury, she first has to assert herself at Eintracht Frankfurt.