World Cup dream burst once: Germany star ousted by team-mate again? | OneFootball

"I have to say that I expected to be there," a visibly shocked Benjamin Henrichs said in a video before the 2022 World Cup in reaction to Hansi Flick leaving him out of the squad. He said at the time in 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 international matches in 2022, which was why he had felt good about his chances. However, the truth is also that in eight matches he was only brought on twice and spent just 68 minutes on the pitch.

Even though he did not address it in the stream, what must also have stung was the fact that Flick nominated his teammate Lukas Klostermann instead of Henrichs. At the time, he was one of the surprise names in the squad, as Klostermann had previously been out injured for three months. Nevertheless, the national team coach at the time 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 may also have been preferred to Henrichs 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 was the end of Klostermann’s international 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 away 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 a view to the 2026 World Cup, he held himself back. In the winter of 2024, he tore his right Achilles tendon in the away match in Munich.

He was out for more than a year afterward. 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 complete parts of his rehab with them. Joshua Kimmich had also checked in on the Leipzig player and wrote to him regularly. The 29-year-old explicitly thanked the Bayern and Germany captain again for that, 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 looked out for me."

Is a déjà vu looming?

Henrichs then made his comeback at the start of 2026. After brief substitute appearances, he has already been allowed to start twice. But he still has not been on the pitch for a full 90 minutes. Still, 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 meant in his celebration and also in the celebration from the team and the stadium. Everyone knows what a journey Benny has been on over the last few months. Now he’s back involved again," Ole Werner said 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 he is at risk of experiencing déjà vu. Klostermann is no longer a rival, but another Leipzig player is still dreaming of the tournament in the summer: Ridle Baku. 

Ole Werner currently has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to deciding who starts 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 team 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 a chance to impress Nagelsmann instead.

However, the national team coach contacted Henrichs at the beginning of January. "He wrote to me again recently, and in my view 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 then see a stream from Benjamin Henrichs in which he announces how happy he is to be part of 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.

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