
As in the first group game against Portugal, Chicharito was in the starting eleven against Russia in Kazan. The record scorer was the lynch pin of his team for the full 90 minutes. Although he didn’t score, he did create a number of chances and could have made it 3-1 with a header. The match was a close-fought affair with Mexico maintaining the upper hand and they were not put off course when Russia opened the scoring.
Mexico moved above Russia to finish second behind European Champions Portugal and thereby progress to the semi-finals where they will meet the other group winner in Sochi on Wednesday. That could be Germany if they beat Cameroon in the final group match in Sochi on Sunday.
The Germany U21s were in action in Poland. Although they lost 1-0 to Italy in Krakow that result was enough to take Germany through to the U21 European Championship semi-finals. Dominik Kohr, who returns to the Werkself for the start of next season, did not play.
Four Leverkusen players are involved in matches on Sunday:
Bernd Leno, Benjamin Henrichs and Julian Brandt are in the Germany squad for final group match in the Confederations Cup against Cameroon at 17:00 CET. Charles Aránguiz and Chile face Asian champions Australia at the same time. Both games are live on TV.

The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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