Henrichs is hoping to make his debut for Germany in the World Cup qualifier in San Marino or in the friendly in Italy.
The 19-year-old, who has been at Bayer 04 since childhood, has been a regular in the Werkself squad this season. Whether at right or left back "opponents find it difficult to get past Benny," said Schmidt who has played Henrichs for the full 90 minutes in 13 of the 15 competitive games this season. Henrichs made his debut for the Germany U21 team a month ago.
Five predecessors
From the Kurtekotten Academy to the German national team – five other players proceeding along that route. In 1988 Knut Reinhardt received his call-up to the national team, Gonzalo Castro followed in 2007, René Adler in 2008 and Stefan Reinartz in 2010. The last Bayer 04 player was Christoph Kramer before the 2014 World Cup and now this honour goes to Benjamin Henrichs.
It's a great day for me today. I'm really happy about the call-up, it's a special honour and a great challenge," said Henrichs before adding: "I'll give 100 per cent to play well for the national team."
And Rudi Völler was also happy to hear the news. "The call-up is a wonderful thumbs up for Benny and also for youth development at Bayer 04. Everybody at the club is happy for him – Benny has earned this chance through his performances over recent months,” said the sporting director.
Five Leverkusen players in the squad
Löw has called up four other Leverkusen players: Kevin Volland, Julian Brandt, Bernd Leno and Jonathan Tah. Volland has eight full international caps, Brandt four. Tah and Leno have made two appearances for Germany.
The match in San Marino is on Friday 11 November at 20.45 CET and the friendly against Italy is on Tuesday 15 November at 20.45 CET in Milan.
The German Football Association (DFB) confirmed the kick-off times for the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal on Thursday. Bayer 04 will meet 1. FC Nürnberg on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET.
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A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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