Bundesliga star wants to return to the Germany squad under Jürgen Klopp: at the 2026 World Cup he was still working as a TV pundit

"Basically, my aim is to be involved again. I want to work my way back into the national team's focus," the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder said in an interview with kicker.

Under former Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, Andrich last earned a call-up for the World Cup qualifiers in October last year. He also made the most recent of his 19 senior international appearances in the 1-0 win in Northern Ireland, coming on shortly before the end.

"I have the ambition to become part of the team again and I still want to experience something with the national team," Andrich stressed. The 31-year-old missed out on the squad for the 2026 World Cup and instead worked in part as a TV pundit and co-commentator for MagentaTV during the tournament in North America. He also got to know the new DFB coach Klopp there, with the German, of course, also working as a pundit for MagentaTV.

Robert Andrich got to know fellow pundit Jürgen Klopp during the World Cup

"When we saw each other, it was really enjoyable. We talked a lot about football," Andrich said of his contact with Klopp during the World Cup. The Leverkusen man had still been a regular for the DFB team at the home European Championship in 2024.

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After Germany's disappointing World Cup exit in the round of 32 against Paraguay, Nagelsmann stepped down. Klopp quickly emerged as the leading candidate to replace him and was then unveiled as the new Germany coach at the end of July. At his introductory press conference, the 59-year-old underlined that, in principle, the door to the national team was open to any player with a German passport. That gives players such as Andrich, who have not been involved recently, hope.

Does Robert Andrich really have a chance of returning to the DFB team under Jürgen Klopp?

Still, the 19-cap international is 31 and hardly an obvious fit by age for the rebuild Klopp is planning. Especially if Klopp uses Joshua Kimmich as a No 6 again, Germany also have a strong pool of options in Andrich's position in central midfield, including younger players such as Aleksandar Pavlovic, Felix Nmecha, Angelo Stiller, Assan Ouedraogo or Tom Bischof.

For Andrich to put himself back in the frame, he first needs to be a regular starter at club level. Recent weeks have brought speculation over a possible departure, with Eintracht Frankfurt considered interested. "I don't get the feeling that the club want to get rid of me," Andrich now stressed, adding that there are currently no indications whatsoever of a transfer. At Bayer, he is battling Aleix Garcia, Exequiel Palacios, Ezequiel Fernandez and Kennet Eichhorn for places in central midfield. The latter is currently out for the time being with a metabolic illness, which according to Sport Bild has changed the squad planning at the Werkself.

Before Eichhorn's absence, two midfielders from the trio of Andrich, Garcia and Fernandez could still have left this summer. Now, it appears at most only one of the three will leave the club.

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