Dortmund's defensive jewel

Stats correct as of 5 August 2025

Elias Benkara
Age: 18 (born 29 April 2007)
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Centre-back
Country: Germany (three youth caps)/ Algeria (uncapped)

Key stats

After travelling to the USA as part of Dortmund's FIFA Club World Cup 2025 squad, Benkara made pre-season friendly appearances against Siegen and Lille, starting and scoring in the former.

The 6'4" central defender also made the bench in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League group stage loss to Barcelona, in a continuation of his stready trajectory since switching to BVB from Mainz in 2021.

Between the ages of 14 to 16, Benkara was already turning out for the Ruhr club's U17s and 19s, making nine UEFA Youth League appearances across 2023/24 and 2024/25, whilst winning his first U15 and 17 caps for Germany.

The 2023/24 U17 Bundesliga winner - who scored in pre-season action against Erzgebirge Aue in summer 2024 - debuted for the Dortmund reserves shortly after the Club World Cup, playing six minutes of a Regionalliga loss to Paderborn's second string.

Plays a bit like: Nico Schlotterbeck

Benkara is the full package at the back, much like Dortmund counterpart Nico Schlotterbeck.

In the same way as the Germany international, Benkara is strong in the air, a commanding presence at the heart of the defence and a composed distributor of possession. His height and athleticism also make him a real threat in the opposition penalty area.

Did you know?

Benkara has Algerian roots on his father's side, meaning he could yet choose to play international football for the Desert Foxes instead of Germany.

What they're saying

"He's a very good player - tall, powerful, with a good reading of the game. He still needs experience, but if he chooses Algeria, it will be a plus for us." - Dortmund and Algeria defender Ramy Bensebaini