The guardian of World Cup records

This match was Neuer's 21st World Cup appearance, allowing the 40-year-old goalkeeper to surpass France's Hugo Lloris and claim the record outright. Lloris, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, now plays for Los Angeles FC in the United States.

Among goalkeepers with the most World Cup matches, Neuer is far ahead of Germany's Sepp Maier and Brazil's Claudio Taffarel. Both Maier, the 1974 World Cup winner, and Taffarel, the 1994 World Cup champion, had 18 appearances in the tournament.

Neuer is also the only goalkeeper among the top four who has participated in five World Cups. In addition to this new achievement, he holds several other notable records for the German national team, including being the oldest German international, the oldest player from the German Football Association (DFB) to compete in a World Cup, and the goalkeeper with the most starts for the national team.

After the match against Côte d'Ivoire, Neuer has earned 126 caps for Germany. He also holds the record for the most appearances by a German player in major tournaments, with 21 World Cup matches and 20 European Championship (EURO) matches.

To become the German player with the most World Cup appearances, Neuer and the German team need to reach the quarterfinals. Former striker Miroslav Klose currently leads with 24 matches, while Lothar Matthäus is ahead of Neuer with 25 matches.

Nevertheless, the record for the oldest goalkeeper to win a World Cup is likely still out of Neuer's reach. Italy's Dino Zoff was 40 years and 133 days old when he won the World Cup in 1982. If Germany reaches the World Cup final this year, Neuer on July 19 would still be 19 days younger than Zoff's record.