Standing ovations, resounding applause and warm embraces: After his teammates gave him a fitting reception a few days ago, Bayer 04 members of staff now congratulated Kossounou on winning AFCON with the Ivory Coast.
"I experienced everything at the tournament. Losing 4-0 in front of our own fans in the group stage was painful. But we kept on going and won in the end. That helps me and my mentality – hopefully I can pass on some of that to the team," said Kossounou.
The Ivorians started the tournament in their own country with a 2-0 win against Guinea-Bissau. However, the hosts lost the other group matches against Nigeria (0-1) and Equatorial Guinea (0-4). Ivory Coast went through the knockout rounds as one of the four best third-placed teams. Werkself player Kossounou did not play in the three group matches. Coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked following the two defeats and before the Round of 16 game.
His successor Emerse Faé made changes for the knockout rounds including bringing Kossounou into the line-up. The Leverkusen defender played 116 minutes in the win on penalties against Senegal in the Round of 16. The following quarter-final against Mali saw Kossounou sent off on 43 minutes for a second yellow card offence but the Ivorians went on to win 2-1 in extra time. That was followed by a 1-0 win against the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the suspended Werkself player looking on from the stands. Kossounou returned to the starting XI for the final between Ivory Coast and Nigeria – and he celebrated a 2-1 victory with his teammates.
Just twelve days after the head-to-head in the league, the Bayer 04 Women again entertain Turbine Potsdam at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. In contrast to the 3-0 win on Bundesliga Matchday 9, this time it is not about picking up three points. On Friday, 22 November (kick-off: 18.00 CET) it is all about going through to the quarter-finals in the DFB Pokal. Werkself TV will broadcast the match live and exclusively via a free stream.
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The brand-new Bayer 04 Fanzone in the South Stand at the BayArena has opened for all Werkself fans. The official launch of the 700 square metre plus state-of-the-art interactive shopping and world of experience on Wednesday afternoon followed an exclusive event the night before. The symbolic starting shot was made by special honoured guests before several hundred fans were able to gain their first impressions of the numerous products and interactive facilities – and the response has been very positive.
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Twelve Werkself players have been selected for their national teams in the final international break of the year, with the Leverkusen's international players competing in the final group matches in the UEFA Nations League, in qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. We round up all the results involving Bayer 04 players here.
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Five players in the Bayer 04 Women squad have been selected for the Germany U23s for two international fixtures. That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday afternoon.
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Bayer 04’s Bundesliga game at home to St. Pauli on Saturday, 7 December will be the next district matchday of the season, with the district of Hitdorf being the stage for numerous activities in the week building up to the fixture against the promoted side.
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