Marc-André ter Stegen set for Germany’s No 1 shirt under Klopp

Ajax Amsterdam coach Míchel has confirmed that Marc-André ter Stegen is playing through the tail-end of a serious injury – and that recovery, not risk, will dictate his minutes this week.

Ter Stegen was left out of Ajax’s league game against Willem II Tilburg on Tuesday night, a decision Míchel framed as part of a bigger plan rather than a shock omission.

“Marc is recovering from a serious injury,” the coach said, explaining why his first-choice goalkeeper sat out. With an international window looming, Míchel called “the current moment favourable” to give understudy Maarten Paes a start and allow ter Stegen to “properly recover for the game on Saturday as well as the subsequent international break”.

The strategy is clear: protect the 34-year-old now, reap the benefits later. Míchel expects Germany to call him up anyway. “Should ter Stegen travel to the national team – which is likely – we will then have time to continue working on his recovery,” he added.

Klopp’s new era, same crown prince

Back in Germany, the stakes are rising. According to multiple reports, new national coach Jürgen Klopp is planning with ter Stegen as his future No 1. The “eternal” heir to Manuel Neuer has waited years for that status to become permanent.

He briefly held it already. Under Klopp’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, ter Stegen stepped up after Neuer’s post-Euro 2024 retirement from the national team, only for a run of injuries to halt his momentum. His last appearance for Germany came on 8 June 2025, a 2-0 Nations League defeat to France in Stuttgart.

Now the door is open again.

For his comeback, the stage could hardly be more symbolic. Klopp’s first match in charge sends Germany to Amsterdam to face the Netherlands in the Nations League on 24 September – effectively a home game for the Ajax keeper in his club city.

Germany’s schedule in that window is packed: Greece on 27 September, Serbia on 1 October, then Greece again on 4 October. Klopp will name his squad on Thursday at 10am, and all signs point to a large, competitive group of goalkeepers.

New challengers, old hierarchy

With Neuer now definitively retired from the national team and previous No 2 Oliver Baumann expected to miss out, the hierarchy behind ter Stegen is being rebuilt.

Alexander Nübel of Besiktas and Bayern Munich’s Jonas Urbig are viewed as the primary challengers, both pushing to turn promise into caps. Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen is also tipped to be included as part of the new generation staking a claim.

The message is unmistakable: the shirt is ter Stegen’s to lose. But with a fragile recent injury record, a cautious club coach, and hungry contenders at his back, his long-awaited reign as Germany’s undisputed No 1 will begin under immediate pressure – starting, fittingly, in Amsterdam.