The last game in Group B was very much like a final. Hosts, and European champions, Portugal played Switzerland who were three points ahead but with a worse goal difference after winning all nine of their previous matches. However, Admir Mehmedi, who played the full 90 minutes, and his fellow countrymen ended up on the losing side for the first time in a 2-0 defeat. As runners-up, Switzerland now take part in the play-offs as do Greece. The team coached by Michael Skibbe registered a comfortable 4-0 win against bottom-of-the-table Gibraltar. Panos Retsos, who came on as a substitute against Cyprus, did not play this time. The draw for the play-offs will be held on 17 October.
It was a bad night for Chile who needed to get a result in the final South American World Cup qualifier against Brazil. That did not happen with La Roja losing 3-0 – and that meant the Copa América winners failed to book a place in Russia as they finished sixth in the group. Chile fielded Charles Aránguiz, although the midfielder had suffered a calf injury in the game at Schalke ten days ago. The Werkself pro was substituted three minutes after the restart with the score at 0-0. He watched the demise unfold from the bench.
Joel Pohjanpalo and Julian Baumgartlinger, with Finland and Austria respectively, when no longer in a position to qualify for the World Cup But the group matches ended on a high for the duo. 'Baumi' Captained Austria to a 1-0 victory in Moldova, 'Danger' Secured a point for the Scandinavians with his late leveller in the 2-2 draw with Turkey.“ That was his sixth goal in 27 internationals.
The Germany U21 team, including captain Jonathan Tah and left-back Benny Henrichs, suffered a defeat in a European Championship qualifier for the first time in seven years. The European champions took the lead through Cedric Teuchert (FC Nürnberg) but ended up losing 3-1 in Norway after a run of 17 games unbeaten.
The Germany U17 team at the World Cup in India had an even worse time of it. After winning the opener against Costa Rica 2-1, the second game for the Germany youngsters, with Bayer 04 central defender Jan Boller playing one half and goalkeeper Marian Prinz on the bench, was a disaster with a 4-0 defeat against Iran. The team under coach Christian Wück now have to perform in the third match against Guinea on Friday (13.30 CET).
Kai Havertz, Sam Schreck and Atakan Akkaynak all started for the Germany U19s in the first qualifying round for the European Championships in Poland with a 2-0 win against the hosts. None of the Bayer 04 rising stars found the back of the net this time. The previous two matches, a 5-1 victory against Belarus and a 7-1 win against Northern Ireland, saw Havertz score 5 goals with one apiece for Schreck and Akkaynak.
With 22 days to go until the start of the Bundesliga campaign, the Bayer 04 Women’s team have gained a fresh boost of confidence. In a friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk on Saturday afternoon, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team secured a 1–0 win. Lobke Loonen (20’) scored the winner for the Black and Reds at the Kurtekotten training centre.
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A successful fourth preseason friendly ahead of the start of the training camp: The Werkself secured a 3-0 victory over Rot-Weiss Essen at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The goals in what was a commanding and dominant performance by Leverkusen from the outset were scored by Ibrahim Maza (8'), Patrik Schick from the penalty spot (23’) and, in the second half, Montrell Culbreath with a header (79’). The team set off for their training camp in Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region after the game.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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You have voted – your ‘Team of the Quarter-Century’ has been decided! This historic selection, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2024, features honorary captains, Bundesliga champions, double winners and Champions League finalists. Edmond Tapsoba is the only player from the current Bayer 04 squad to make it into the starting XI, while his team-mate Patrik Schick is on the bench. Simon Rolfes, the current managing director sport, is also in the lie-up. A truly special team that brings together a quarter of a century of Bayer 04 history – and has left a decisive mark on the club.
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Following Patrik Schick, Mark Flekken, Ibrahim Maza and Kerim Alajbegovic earlier this week, the next World Cup participant is back on the training ground in Leverkusen: On Thursday 30 July, Malik Tillman rejoined the squad, completing his first training session under head coach Carles Martínez.
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