"I have to say that I expected to be included," a visibly shocked Benjamin Henrichs said in a video before the 2022 World Cup in response to Hansi Flick leaving him out of the squad. He said at the time on his stream to the fans that it had been totally disappointing for him.
Henrichs explained that he had been involved in all of Germany’s internationals in 2022, which was why he had felt good about his chances. However, the truth is also that in eight matches he only came on twice and was on the pitch for just 68 minutes.
Even though he did not address it in the stream, what must also have been bitter for him was the fact that Flick nominated his teammate Lukas Klostermann instead of Henrichs. At the time, he was one of the surprises in the squad, as Klostermann had previously been out injured for three months. Nevertheless, the then national coach opted against a fit Henrichs and in favor of Klostermann.
Henrichs falling behind
At the time, a report by 'rblive' said he could be used flexibly in a back three, four, or five. He likely got the nod over Henrichs partly because of his reliability. Former Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann once said that if he woke Klostermann up in the middle of the night and told him, "Now bread me a few schnitzels," he would do that too.
Klostermann went to the World Cup and even played a few minutes, but as we know, it was only a short stay in Qatar for the German team. Their tournament ended after the group stage.
It also felt like that marked the end of Klostermann’s national team career. He was still invited to a few friendlies in 2023, but by now he is also just a benchwarmer at club level and as far from a World Cup ticket as Leipzig are from an international title this season.
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So Henrichs no longer has to worry about him. But with an eye on the 2026 World Cup, he held himself back. In the winter of 2024, he tore his right Achilles tendon in the away game in Munich.
He was out for over a year after that. During that time, he received many messages — also from former teammates such as Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) and Dani Olmo (Barça). Both offered to let him do parts of his rehab with them. Joshua Kimmich had also asked about the Leipzig player and wrote to him regularly. The 29-year-old had also expressly thanked the Bayern and Germany captain for that again, as he revealed in an interview with 'kicker': "Because I don’t take it for granted how often he wrote to me and how much he also looked out for me."
Is a déjà vu looming?
Then, at the start of 2026, came Henrichs’ comeback. After brief substitute appearances, he has already even started twice. But he still has not been on the pitch for 90 minutes. However, when he scored in last week’s 5-0 win against Hoffenheim, it felt like all of Leipzig wanted to hug him.
"I think you could see what that means from his celebration and also from the celebration of the team and the stadium. Everyone knows what a journey Benny has been through in recent months. Now he’s back involved again," Ole Werner said happily after the win. The Leipzig player has an exceptional character and is "a blessing for every team," his coach explained. With the emphasis on "every."
But to secure a World Cup ticket with the German national team, Henrichs needs playing time. Yet a déjà vu threatens him. Klostermann is no longer a rival, but another Leipzig player is still dreaming of the tournament this summer: Ridle Baku.
Ole Werner currently has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choosing who to play at right-back. He has "two really, really good guys," which does not make the decision any easier. So will Henrichs be snubbed by the next national coach and have to watch his teammate go to the World Cup? For the current international break, neither of the two was called up, while Stuttgart’s Josha Vagnoman gets the chance to impress Nagelsmann.
However, the national coach contacted Henrichs at the beginning of January. "He wrote to me again recently, and in my eyes that was actually relatively good news," Henrichs revealed to 'kicker' at the training camp.
So it is not completely out of the question that he could still jump on the World Cup train — four years late. And who knows, maybe in May we will see a stream from Benjamin Henrichs in which he announces how happy he is to be going to the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. He had actually had a bad feeling beforehand. After all, he had not been invited to an international match for a long time before the World Cup squad announcement.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
