After Saturday's 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands, Germany lost for a second time in succession on Tuesday night: In spite of a brave performance against World Cup winners France, the Germany team under coach Joachim Löw lost 2-1 in Paris. With a reshuffled line-up, Germany took the lead on 14 minutes when former Leverkusen midfielder Toni Kroos converted a penalty but they missed the opportunity to extend their lead. Two goals in the last 30 minutes from Antoine Griezmann (62', 80' pen.) sealed a somewhat unfortunate defeat for the German team who are now unable to be certain of remaining in Group A1 under their own steam. Werkself pro Julian Brandt came off the bench in the closing stages of the game at the Stade de France in the French capital – he replaced Matthias Ginter on 83 minutes but was unable to effect the outcome of the match. As on Saturday, team-mate Jonathan Tah remained on the subs bench for the full 90 minutes and therefore still has to wait to make his fourth full international appearance.
Aleksandar Dragovic also returns to Leverkusen on the back of a defeat. The 27-year-old Austrian was on the wrong end of 2-0 reverse in a friendly away to Denmark on Tuesday night. The Werkself number six was played from the start by the Austria coach Franco Foda and he went the full distance. Issac Kiese Thelin did not play in Sweden's 1-1 draw with Slovakia.
There was better luck for Sam Schreck: Following his debut for the Germany U20 team on Friday, the forward started against Switzerland in the U20 Elite League on Tuesday afternoon and he promptly repaid the confidence shown in him: With 16 minutes on the clock, he made it 2-0 with a long-range effort. The Germany junior side under coach Mikel Schönweitz ran out 3-2 winners in the match in Emden.
Jakub Bednarczyk and the Poland junior team lost 4-1 to the Netherlands in the U20 Elite League. The Werkself pro played on the left side of the back four for the full 90 minutes.
The day before, Lukas Hradecky and Finland celebrated a 2-0 victory over Greece in the Nations League. The Werkself number one kept another clean sheet in the new European competition: He did not concede in the fourth group match as he played his part in ensuring the Eagle Owls (on 12 points) have one foot in the play-offs with two games to play in Group C2 – ahead of Greece (6), Hungary (4) and Estonia (1).
Tin Jedvaj also completed the October international break with a win. On Monday night, Croatia beat Jordan 2-1 in a friendly. The 22-year-old World Cup runner-up, who played the full 90 minutes in the 0-0 draw with England in the Nations League on Friday (Group A4), was brought on with 64 minutes on the clock.
Paulinho was the third Werkself pro in action on Monday. In a 2-2 draw in a friendly for the Brazil U20s against Chile, the 18-year-old came off the bench in the second half for the second time in three days.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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With sixth place at the end of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign, Bayer 04 ended a season in the top third of the table for the ninth time in a row. While the Werkself were narrowly eliminated in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by eventual finalists Arsenal, the Black and Reds reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third season in succession. As in previous years, you once again have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app up to and including 11 June.
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With 46 points in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga, the Bayer 04 Women’s team once again broke the previous season's club record and ended up in fifth place - 15 wins is also a record. As in previous years, you now have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is open exclusively to Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app by 11 June.
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The guests at the Scala Club in Leverkusen were amazed when host Reiner Calmund suddenly brought the Managing Director of Sport at Bayer 04, Simon Rolfes, and record Werkself appearance maker Rüdiger Vollborn onto the stage. As part of the show "An Evening with Football & Friends", organised by long-serving Bayer 04 managing director and general manager Calmund, the two surprise guests drew plenty of applause - and provided great entertainment in exciting conversations about the past and future.
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