Behind Ann-Katrin Berger's long shadow, Ena Mahmutovic has already come into her own. Bayern Munich's first-choice goalkeeper has emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Berger as Germany's number one, and her boss in Munich would even have liked to raise the "T question" before the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
Ena is "the future of the national team", Bayern director Bianca Rech said recently, while also insisting the 22-year-old keeper should be "not only nominated" in the DFB squad. Christian Wück did not bite.
For the national coach, the experienced Berger (35) is simply "still a touch ahead", shutting down the debate at the start of the World Cup season. The Olympic and European Championship heroine of Gotham FC is, however, being allowed to take a break from the national team during the intense phase of the US season. That gives Mahmutovic the chance to apply pressure in the tough tests against Australia and Japan.
Speaking ahead of the home matches on Friday (8.30pm) in Karlsruhe and four days later in Bremen (5.45pm), Wück said: "Ena's performances are very good. She has now also developed a good presence on the pitch. She will get her playing time." Unlike challenger Stina Johannes of Wolfsburg, Mahmutovic offers consistency.
Two memorable debuts for Ena Mahmutovic
Although she recently extended her contract in Munich until 2029, the 1.77m goalkeeper has only two senior international appearances to her name. Her debut at the end of 2024 went badly wrong, and she shared the blame for the 2-1 defeat against Italy in Bochum.
There was another memorable debut before that: in her first Bundesliga match, the Duisburg-born player came on in 2020 at the age of 16 as an outfield player for MSV because of a shortage of personnel: "In stoppage time the coach brought me on. I was allowed to make two sprints. That was my debut."
Getty ImagesHad her father got his way, the young Ena would never have ended up in goal at all: "He still says I would have been better out on the pitch because I can use both feet well." Her current club coach in Munich, where as a child of the Ruhr region she first had to get over a "culture shock" after her move in 2024, could hardly be happier that things turned out differently.
"She is one of the most talented goalkeepers in the world," enthused Jose Barcala, someone who can decide matches. That is exactly what Ena Mahmutovic is now meant to prove in the DFB team too.