Laura Benkarth

Laura Benkarth
Benkarth in 2021
Personal information
Full name Laura Anna Benkarth[1]
Date of birth (1992-10-14) 14 October 1992
Place of birth Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 SC Freiburg
Number 1
Youth career
2008 FC Wolfenweiler-Schallstadt
2008–2009 SC Freiburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2018 SC Freiburg 137 (0)
2018–2023 Bayern Munich 51 (0)
2023–2025 Lyon 9 (0)
2025– SC Freiburg 16 (0)
International career‡
2008 Germany U16 1 (0)
2009 Germany U17 1 (0)
2010–2011 Germany U19 9 (0)
2011–2012 Germany U20 10 (0)
2015– Germany 11 (0)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
UEFA Women's Championship
2013 Sweden
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 April 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:01, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

Laura Anna Benkarth (born 14 October 1992) is a German footballer who plays for SC Freiburg and the German national team.[2][3]

Club career

Benkarth began her career at SV Biengen and FC Wolfenweiler-Schallstadt. In 2008, she arrived in the youth department of the SC Freiburg where she played for the B-Jugend. In 2009, she moved to the senior squad as a second goalkeeper and made his debut on 20 September 2009 (1st Round) in the 0:1 defeat at home to the FF USV Jena. In her first season, she was used only three times at senior level. In her second season, Benkarth played 13 games and her participation increased in the third season with 22 appearances.[4] In 2014, with the departure of Caroline Abbé to FC Bayern Munich, she was nominated the new team captain.[5] Benkarth became the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper. In the 2017–18 season, she finished third in the league with Freiburg. For the 2018–19 season, she transferred to FC Bayern Munich and suffered an ACL injury in the summer.[6] She returned to the pitch in the spring of 2019. With Bayern Munich, she won the German championship twice. Initially still the first-choice goalkeeper, she lost her starting position to Maria Luisa Grohs after suffering another severe knee injury in 2021.[7]

She signed with Lyon in 2023.[8] Benkarth made eleven appearances as the second-choice goalkeeper behind Christiane Endler and won the French championship twice with her club.

For the 2025–26 season, she returned to SC Freiburg.[9] She was fielded in the season opener on 7 September 2025 in a 1–1 away draw against Werder Bremen and has been the first-choice goalkeeper ever since. In the 1–3 defeat to VfL Wolfsburg on 5 December 2025, she made her 200th Bundesliga appearance.[10] Since February 2026, she has been on a break due to pregnancy.[11]

International career

In 2007, she was on the Germany U17 squad which was the champion in the 2009 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. With the Germany U19 team in 2010, Benkarth took part in the 2010 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Macedonia. The team reached the semi-finals, but lost, for the future champion, France in the penalties (5–3).[12] That same year she was part of the national team that won the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in their own country, remained as the third goalkeeper behind Almuth Schult and Desirée Schumann without playing any match. In the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan she played every minute in all six matches, Germany played in the tournament without conceding one single goal (clean sheet). Germany only lost in the final against the United States, for the minimum score, 1:0 (goal scored by Kealia Ohai). Benkarth was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament with the "Golden Glove".[13] In October 2012 Benkarth was nominated for the senior national team for the first time.[14] In until 28 July 2013 she was called for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 in Sweden, replacing Kathrin Längert in the squad.[15]

She was part of the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the gold medal.[16]

Career statistics

International

As of 18 September 2021[17]
Germany
Year Apps Goals
2015 1 0
2016 2 0
2017 5 0
2020 2 0
2021 1 0
Total 11 0

Honours

Bayern Munich
Olympique Lyon
Germany U-17
Germany U-20
Germany

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. 27 May 2019. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Kaderliste U-20-WM 2012 on fifa.com" (PDF). fifadata.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Laura Benkarth". weltfussball.de. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Laura Benkarth – Spielerin bei SC Freiburg – Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga 2013/2014 – Fussballdaten – Die Fußballdatenbank". fussballdaten.de. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  5. ^ "FBL News". Twitter. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  6. ^ "SC Freiburg: Nationalkeeperin erleidet Kreuzbandriss" [SC Freiburg: National keeper suffers ACL injury]. Schwarzwälder Bote (in German). 3 April 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  7. ^ "Knie-OP! Schock für Bayern" [Knee surgery! Shock for FC Bayern]. Sport1 (in German). Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  8. ^ "Nach 14 Jahren in der Bundesliga: Benkarth wechselt nach Lyon". kicker. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Laura Benkarth kehrt zum Sport-Club zurück" [Laura Benkarth returns to Sport-Club]. SC Freiburg (in German). Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Niederlage nach Pausenführung in Wolfsburg" [Defeat in Wolfsburg after leading at halftime]. SC Freiburg (in German). Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Laura Benkarth wird Mutter" [Laura Benkarth is expecting a baby]. SC Freiburg (in German). Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Clinical France time run perfectly". UEFA. 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  13. ^ "FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Japan 2012". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Framba.de – Framba.de". Framba.de. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  15. ^ "Neid turns to youth for Germany". UEFA. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Gold for Germany as Neid finishes in style". fifa.com. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Laura Benkarth". dfb.de. 18 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  18. ^ Mehta, Kalika; Ford, Matt (28 May 2023). "Women's Bundesliga: Bayern Munich's title reveals problems". Deutsche Welle (dw.com). Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Golden Glove 2012". fifa.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016.
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