Germany's women: Ena Mahmutovic makes her case to become Germany's next No.1 goalkeeper

With determination, pace, and four beautifully crafted goals, Germany's women won its friendly against Australia, thrilling not only the fans but also head coach Christian Wück.

"You can see how fired up the girls are, how well they're already playing together, and that we have an incredible amount of talent on the field and on the bench," said a delighted Wück after his team's well-deserved 4-2 victory.

Since there were several notable absences, including captain Giulia Gwinn and top scorer Lea Schüller, others had to step up and fill the gaps. And they did so with flying colors. Melissa Kössler made a strong case for herself as a striker by scoring her first two international goals. Center back Camilla Küver and Sjoeke Nüsken were also on the scoresheet.

Mahmutovic seizes her chance in goal

Much like it was with the men's team during Jürgen Klopp's first international break as Germany head coach, the question as to who will emerge as the next number one goalkeeper for the women was also a hot topic.

The difference is that unlike Manuel Neuer, who has retired from international football, Ann-Katrin Berger is sticking around for at least one more tournament cycle.

However, with just three matches to go before the start of the playoffs in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), where she plays for Gotham FC, Berger is giving these two Germany friendlies a miss. 

Parallels to men's goalkeeping situation

This means 22-year-old Bayern Munich goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic, who is seen as a potential successor to Berger, took her her chance.

"Ena deserves to play the next match," Wück said ahead of the game. "We must not forget that she already kept a clean sheet in Slovenia (Germany's last World Cup qualifier). And I hope she can repeat that tomorrow."

Some will draw parallels to Jonas Urbig, who many see as a future number one for Germany's men. Both he and Mahmutovic were born in 2003 in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and both are seen as up-and-coming stars for their club and country. 

The difference is that while Urbig remains an understudy to Neuer at Bayern, Mahmutovic is already the first-choice keeper at her club, having won the starting job over Maria Luisa Grohs prior to the start of the season.

For Germany, though, Mahmutovic still has to bide her time, while there are already strong indications that Klopp intends to make Urbig his number one.

'The future of the national team'

"I'm obviously delighted," Mahmutovic said ahead of the games.

"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."

Bayern director Bianca Rech recently described Mahmutovic as "the future of the national team," calling on Wück not only to give her a callup, but also regular playing time.

Wück still sees Berger as slightly better than Mahmutovic, but he is also full of praise for the young keeper.

"Ena's performances have been very good," he said. "She will get her playing time."

Costly mistake in Germany debut

The match against Slovenia was just Mahmutovic's second appearances for Germany. Her first, which came almost two years ago, was memorable for the wrong reason. In the dying minutes of a friendly in December 2024, she lost control of the ball after a back pass, allowing an Italian forward to score the winner in a 2-1 defeat for Germany. Still, Mahmutovic was included in Germany's squad for the 2025 Euros.

Had it been up to her father – who is from Montenegro – Mahmutovic would never have become a goalkeeper.

"He still says I would have been better as an outfield player because I'm good with both feet," she said.

Unusual Bundesliga debut

That's a quality that evidently wasn't lost on Thomas Gerstner, when her coach at her then-club Duisburg, gave her her Women's Bundesliga debut in May 2020. With the team coping with several absences, the then-16-year-old, who had been on the bench as backup goalkeeper, came on as an outfield player.

"The coach brought me on during stoppage time," Mahmutovic recalled. "I got to make two sprints – that was my debut."

That, however, was a one-off, and nobody questions Mahmutovic's strengths as a goalkeeper.

"She is one of the most talented goalkeepers in the world," said Bayern coach Jose Barcala, noting that she is the kind of player who can decide a match.

Mahmutovic will be hoping she gets many more opportunities to do just that for Germany.

This article was originally published in German.

This article was updated on October 12 after Germany's friendly against Australia.