Mahmutovic eyes Germany's No. 1 goalkeeper role in World Cup warmups

Ena Mahmutovic is about to get a stage she has been waiting for. The 22-year-old Bayern Munich goalkeeper will start for Germany's women's national team in friendlies against Australia on Friday and Japan the following Tuesday—matches that carry real weight in the months before next summer's World Cup in Brazil. Ann-Katrin Berger, Germany's established first-choice keeper, is sitting out these games to manage her schedule with her club, Gotham FC, in the National Women's Soccer League playoffs. That absence opens a door for Mahmutovic, who has been cast as Berger's eventual successor but has spent most of her international career waiting in the wings.

Germany's coach Christian Wück chose these opponents deliberately. Australia and Japan play in ways that differ sharply from the European teams Germany faces regularly, and Wück wants his squad to adapt to that unfamiliar rhythm before the World Cup. "Their style of play isn't what we're used to in Europe," he said at a press conference in Karlsruhe. "These will be high-level matches, and they will challenge us in a completely different way than European teams do." The team has qualified for Brazil and is now in a refinement phase, building on what Wück describes as a solid foundation laid over recent years. Sporting director Nia Künzer emphasized that Germany knows its strengths but must deploy them fully against top-tier opponents if it wants to compete at the highest level.

Mahmutovic's path to this moment has been unconventional. She made her Germany debut almost two years ago, in December 2024, in a friendly against Italy—a match she would rather forget. In the final minutes, she lost control of a back pass, and an Italian forward capitalized to score the winning goal in a 2-1 defeat. Despite that costly error, she was selected for Germany's 2025 Euros squad. Her second appearance came more recently in a World Cup qualifier against Slovenia, where she kept a clean sheet. Wück has made clear he expects her to replicate that performance. "Ena deserves to play the next match," he said. "We must not forget that she already kept a clean sheet in Slovenia. And I hope she can repeat that tomorrow."

At club level, Mahmutovic has already secured the starting role. She won the first-choice position at Bayern Munich ahead of Maria Luisa Grohs before this season began, and Bayern's coach Jose Barcala has called her one of the most talented goalkeepers in the world—the kind of player capable of deciding a match. Bayern's director Bianca Rech recently described her as "the future of the national team," urging Wück not only to call her up but to give her regular playing time. Wück acknowledges that Berger remains slightly ahead of Mahmutovic in his assessment, yet he has praised the younger keeper's performances and committed to giving her opportunities.

Mahmutovic's background adds texture to her story. Her father, who is from Montenegro, once suggested she would have been better suited to outfield play because of her two-footed ability. That versatility was on display in an unusual moment early in her career. In May 2020, when she was 16 years old and serving as backup goalkeeper at her then-club Duisburg, her coach Thomas Gerstner brought her on as an outfield player during stoppage time of a Women's Bundesliga match due to squad absences. She made two sprints and then came off. It was a one-off, and her future lay in goal, not the field.

The comparison to Jonas Urbig, Germany's men's goalkeeper prospect, is inevitable. Both were born in 2003 in North Rhine-Westphalia and are viewed as rising stars for club and country. The difference is instructive: Urbig remains a backup to Manuel Neuer at Bayern, while Wück has already signaled that Urbig will become Germany's number one for the men. Mahmutovic, by contrast, is already her club's starter but must still prove herself at the international level. Berger is not retiring; she is simply taking a break for these friendlies, which means Mahmutovic's path to the number one jersey remains open but not yet clear.

When asked about the upcoming matches, Mahmutovic expressed genuine enthusiasm. "It's always something special, of course—especially playing against a team from another continent. I think testing ourselves against them is very helpful as we look ahead to the World Cup." These two friendlies are her audition. Wück has given her his backing, Bayern has given her its trust, and the national team's leadership has signaled that she represents the future. What remains to be seen is whether she can translate that confidence into performances that make the case for her own succession irrefutable.