The reigning World Cup winners Germany will play Saudi Arabia at the BayArena ahead of this summer's tournament. As confirmed by the German Football Association (DFB) on Friday, the Saudis will play the titleholders at Leverkusen's stadium on 8 June immediately before departing for the finals in Russia (14 June to 15 July). During the World Cup training camp in South Tirol, Germany will play Austria in Klagenfurt on 2 June. At the request of the sporting management the run-in will include a home game – with friendly prices for young fans.
"Children and teenagers watch the team play for five euros," said DFB president Reinhard Grindel. "We know it's special motivation for the children and teenagers in our clubs to be able to support their heroes. We hope lots of young fans in Leverkusen will get behind our players and give them a boost for the World Cup in Russia." For the game against Saudi Arabia, being played six days before the World Cup opening game against Russia, Germany coach Joachim Löw is expecting, "a different way of playing and mentality we aren't so familiar with but which we have to be prepared for at a World Cup. I assume Saudi Arabia will take the game against us very seriously and not give anything away."
In Group F, the reigning World Cup winners Germany, will play Mexico (17 June), Sweden (23 June) and South Korea (27 June). Germany have played Saudi Arabia twice before. In 1998 there was a 3-0 win for Germany in a friendly in Riyadh. Germany won 8-0 in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup.
Previous full internationals in Leverkusen:
18.12.1991: Germany v Luxembourg 4-0 (Euro qualifier 1992)
08.10.1995: Germany v Moldova 6-1 (Euro qualifier 1996)
04.06.1999: Germany v Moldova 6-1 (Euro qualifier 2000)
24.03.2001: Germany v Albania 2-1 (World Cup qualifier 2002)
18.05.2002: Germany v Austria 6-2
30.05.2006: Germany v Japan 2-2
05.09.2009: Germany v South Africa 2-0
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
Show more
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
Show more
“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
Show more
Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
