
Bayer 04 captain Lukas Hradecky is in the Finland squad. The Werkself keeper is set to face Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina again in Group 3 of League B in the UEFA Nations League.
International duty started on Monday 23 May for Jonathan Tah. The 26-year-old is currently with the Germany squad at a five-day training camp in Marbella. The team under coach Hansi Flick are preparing for Nations League games in June. The opponents in Group 3 of League A are European champions Italy, England, Hungary and Italy again.
Moussa Diaby is also lined up for international fixtures. France national coach Didier Deschamps has called up the pacy striker to his 24-man squad. The Équipe Tricolore first play Denmark before two matches in Group 1 of League A against Croatia and Austria.
A new competition is about to take place: Argentina, winners of the 2021 Copa America, play the reigning European champions Italy at Wembley Stadium. Werkself midfielder Exequiel Palacios is in the South American squad. The 23-year-old has made 18 full international appearances so far.
Piero Hincapie is on the road with Ecuador. The versatile defender is on a USA tour of friendlies with games against Nigeria, Mexico and Cape Verde. The 20-year-old has 16 caps for Ecuador to date and has scored one goal for his country.
Edmond Tapsoba has two qualifiers for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in June. The Werkself number 12 is with Burkina Faso for a game against Cape Verde and a meeting with Eswatini. Togo are the fourth team in Group B of the AFCON qualifiers.
Defender Odilon Kossounou is in the squad for two games for the Ivory Coast. The 13-time International faces Zambia and Lesotho in Group H of the AFCON qualifiers. The match against the third group opponents Comoros is set to be played in September 2022.
Left-back Mitchel Bakker is in the final 23-man squad. As part of the European championship qualifiers, the team under Marcel Groninger play Moldova, Gibraltar and Wales. Bakker and Co. are currently second in Group 5 just two points behind leaders Switzerland having played one game less.
INTERNATIONAL FIXTURES:
Lukas Hradecky – Finland
4 June, 18.00 CEST: Finland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina (UEFA Nations League)
7 June, 18.00 CEST: Finland vs Montenegro (UEFA Nations League)
11 June, 20.45 CEST: Romania vs Finland (UEFA Nations League)
14 June, 20.45 CEST: Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Finland (UEFA Nations League)
Jonathan Tah – Germany
4 June, 20:45 CEST: Italy vs Germany (UEFA Nations League)
7 June, 20:45 CEST: Germany vs England (UEFA Nations League)
11 June, 20.45 CEST: Hungary vs Germany (UEFA Nations League)
14 June, 20.45 CEST: Germany vs Italy (UEFA Nations League)
Moussa Diaby – France
3 June, 20.45 CEST: France vs Denmark (UEFA Nations League)
6 June, 20.45 CEST: Croatia vs France (UEFA Nations League)
10 June, 20.45 CEST: Austria vs France (UEFA Nations League)
13 June, 20.45 CEST: France vs Croatia (UEFA Nations League)
Exequiel Palacios – Argentina
1 June, 20.45 CEST: Italy vs Argentina (Finalissima)
Piero Hincapie – Ecuador
3 June, 02.30 CEST: Ecuador vs Nigeria (Friendly)
6 June, 01.30 CEST: Mexico vs Ecuador (Friendly)
12 June, 23.30 CEST: Ecuador vs Cape Verde (Friendly)
Edmond Tapsoba – Burkina Faso
3. June, 21.00 CEST: Burkina Faso vs Cape Verde Islands (AFCON qualifier)
7. June, 15.00 CEST: Eswatini vs Burkina Faso (AFCON qualifier)
Odilon Kossounou – Ivory Coast
3 June, 21.00 CEST: Ivory Coast vs Zambia (AFCON qualifier)
9 June, 21.00 CEST: Lesotho vs Ivory Coast (AFCON qualifier)
Mitchel Bakker – Netherlands U21
3 June, 18.45 CEST: Moldova U21 vs Netherlands U21 (Euro qualifier)
7 June, 20.00 CEST: Netherlands U21 vs Gibraltar U21 (Euro qualifier)
11 June, 18.00 CEST: Wales U21 vs Netherlands U 21 (Euro qualifier)

This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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