Robin Koch

Early career

Koch was born in Kaiserslautern and joined 1. FC Kaiserslautern's academy at the age of five, but switched to SV Dörbach when his family moved to Salmtal. He joined Eintracht Trier's academy in 2009, and despite the fact that "he was never seen as a superstar talent" according to his childhood best friend, he was invited to regional trials by the German Football Association in 2011. He was promoted to Trier's first team in 2014, and made his debut on 22 September 2014 in a 0–0 draw with TuS Koblenz. He scored his first senior goal on 22 November 2014 in a 4–2 victory over SpVgg Neckarelz; A low shot in the 25th minute to put Eintracht Trier 1–0 up. He appeared in 23 league matches for Eintracht Trier across the 2014–15 season, scoring two goals, whilst he also appeared 6 times for their reserve side.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

In 2015, Koch moved to 1. FC Kaiserslautern, initially joining their reserve side. Though he was the son of Kaiserslautern legend Harry Koch, he "tried hard not to live on his father's reputation", living an "unglamorous lifestyle" and "staying off the grid" at Kaiserslautern. He scored once in 26 appearances for Kaiserslautern's reserves in the 2015–16 season. Koch signed his first professional contract with the club in September 2016, with the contract lasting until the summer of 2019. His debut for Kaiserslautern came on 2 October 2016, starting in a 0–0 draw against Arminia Bielefeld in the 2. Bundesliga. He made 24…

Youth

Having been called up to Germany's under-21 squad in October 2018, Koch was part of the Germany U21's squad who finished runner up at the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship after losing the final to Spain in June 2019.

Senior

Koch received his first call-up to the German senior squad in October 2019. He debuted the same year on 9 October in a friendly match against Argentina, playing the whole match. His competitive debut occurred on 16 November, starting in the 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier victory against Belarus. Koch was called up to the Germany squad on 26 August 2020 for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Spain and Switzerland. On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 7 June 2024, he was named in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024.

Koch plays mainly as a centre-back, but can also play as a defensive midfielder or as a central midfielder. He is described as a ball playing centre-back and his style of play has been compared to that of Javi Martínez.

He is the son of former professional footballer Harry Koch. His younger brother Louis plays for SV Alsenborn.