
Congratulations, Moussa. The 21-year-old made his debut for the France senior team in Strasbourg on Wednesday night. France coach Didier Deschamps called up the Werkself number 19 to his squad for the first time. Diaby started on the bench for the World Cup qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the closing stages of the game, the France coach called over the winger to bring him on. Diaby came on for Kylian Mbappé on 90 minutes with the score at 1-1 as he made his debut for the Equipe Tricolore. The match ended all square.
The Finnish Werkself players also started on the bench. First choice keeper Lukas Hradecky was rested for the friendly against Wales and he was replaced by Carljohan Eriksson in Helsinki. Joel Pohjanpalo was also a substitute at the start of the game – he was brought on on 73 minutes but was unable to change the 0-0 scoreline.
Russia, without Andrey Lunev between the sticks, drew 0-0 with Croatia in Moscow in the first World Cup qualifier in Group H. Greece lost 3-1 against Switzerland and friendly and Panos Retsos did not feature in Basel.
Charles Aránguiz (World Cup qualifiers)
3.9., 03:00 CEST, Chile vs Brazil, Santiago
5.9., 23:00 CEST, Ecuador vs Chile, Quito
10.9., 01:00 CEST, Colombia vs Chile, Bogota
Mitchel Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong (U21 Euros qualifier)
7.9.,18:45 CEST, Netherlands vs Moldova, Deventer
Moussa Diaby (World Cup qualifier)
4.9., 20:45 CEST, Ukraine vs France, Kiev
7.9., 20:45 CEST, France vs Finland, Lyon
Emrehan Gedikli (U19 friendlies)
3.9., 17:00 CEST, Germany vs Switzerland, Bad Dürrheim
6.9., 17:15 CEST, Germany vs England, Bad Dürrheim
Piero Hincapie (World Cup qualifiers)
2.9., 23:00 CEST, Ecuador vs Paraguay, Quito
5.9., 23:00 CEST, Ecuador vs Chile, Quito
10.9., 0:30 CEST, Uruguay vs Ecuador, Montevideo
Lukas Hradecky and Joel Pohjanpalo (World Cup qualifiers)
4.9., 15:00 CEST, Finland vs Kazakhstan, Helsinki
7.9., 20:45 CEST, France vs Finland, Lyon
Odilon Kossounou (World Cup qualifiers)
3.9., 15:00 CEST, Mozambique vs Ivory Coast, Maputo
6.9., 21:00 CEST, Ivory Coast vs Cameroon, Abidjan
Andrey Lunev (World Cup qualifiers)
4.9., 18:00 CEST, Cyprus vs Russia, Nicosia
7.9., 20:45 CEST, Russia vs Malta, Moscow
Exequiel Palacios (World Cup qualifiers)
3.9., 02:00, Venezuela vs Argentina, San Cristobal
5.9., 21:00 CEST, Brazil vs Argentina, Rio de Janeiro
10.9., 01:30 CEST, Argentina vs Bolivia, Buenos Aires
Panos Retsos (World Cup qualifiers)
5.9., 20:45 CEST, Kosovo vs Greece, Pristina
8.9., 20:45 CEST, Greece vs Sweden, Athens
Zidan Sertdemir (U17 friendlies)
3.9., 16:30 CEST, Denmark vs Austria, Skagen
6.9., 11:00 CEST, Denmark vs Austria, Frederikshavn
Florian Wirtz (World Cup qualifiers)
2.9., 20:45 CEST, Liechtenstein vs Germany, St. Gallen
5.9., 20:45 CEST, Germany vs Armenia, Stuttgart
8.9., 20:45 CEST, Iceland vs Germany, Reykjavik

With seven points, Mainz 05 are currently joint seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Bayer 04. In today’s head-to-head clash (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself must be particularly wary of the clinical Mainz strike duo. For Leverkusen fans who have left it to the last minute, there are still a few tickets available from the matchday ticket office. Those following the Black and Reds from home, on the other hand, have a choice: RTL is broadcasting the match on free-to-air TV, and Werkself Radio is also offering the expert commentary of former Bayer 04 player Falko Götz. Today’s matchday news.
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Back from the international break: On Saturday 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), the Werkself are away to Mainz 05. Ahead of the clash at the MEWA ARENA against the side currently sixth in the table, head coach Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about the team’s work during the extended international break. The Spaniard also commented, when asked, on a number of squad matters, including Ibrahim Maza.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Thomas Eichin has been working for Bayer 04 for six years – as Director of Professional Teams since July 2023 – and has contributed to the successful development of our club in many areas. Today, Friday 9 October, Freiburg-born Eichin is celebrating his 60th birthday. We wish him a very happy birthday.
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Together with his family, friends and close associates, Bayer 04 Leverkusen bid farewell to Peter Hermann. The club’s long-serving assistant manager passed away on 19 September following a serious illness. Today, Thursday 8 October, Bayer 04 held an event attended by around 200 invited guests to commemorate Peter Hermann’s legacy. Representatives from the DFB and the other professional clubs where Hermann worked paid their respects to him at the BayArena.
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