The first international break of the season is slowly but surely coming to an end. Four Bayer 04 players were in action on Tuesday night in the last matches before their return to Leverkusen.
Mitchel Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong were first up with the Netherlands U21s against Moldova. With the two Bayer 04 full-backs in the starting eleven, the Dutch team lived up to their billing as favourites in the opening qualifier for the U21 European Championships. The hosts netted all three goals in the 3-0 win in the first 54 minutes. Bakker, provider for the second goal scored by the Hertha Berlin new signing Jürgen Ekkelenkamp, was substituted on 66 minutes. Frimpong played for another 15 minutes.
The Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky and his Finland teammates faced a considerably stiffer challenge. In a World Cup qualifier game in Group D there was an away game at the reigning World Cup winners who ended up winning 2-0 thanks to a brace from Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann. Hradecky went the full distance, striker Joel Pohjanpalo (now on loan at Caykur Rizespor) played up to the 73rd minute. Moussa Diaby did not feature for France in this game.
The World Cup winners are opening up a clear lead in the group but Finland are still in with a good chance of making the play-offs. Having played one game less than second-placed Ukraine, Hradecky and Co. are currently third on the same number of points.
Russia are also on course for the World Cup finals in Group H. The favourites beat Malta 2-0 in Moscow, Werkself keeper Andrey Lunev did not play.
Charles Aránguiz (World Cup qualifier)
10.9., 01.00 CEST, Colombia vs Chile, Bogota
Piero Hincapie (World Cup qualifier)
10.9., 00.30 CEST, Uruguay vs Ecuador, Montevideo
Exequiel Palacios (World Cup qualifier)
10.9., 01.30 CEST, Argentina vs Bolivia, Buenos Aires
Panos Retsos (World Cup qualifier)
8.9., 20.45 CEST, Greece vs Sweden, Athens
Florian Wirtz (World Cup qualifier)
8.9., 20.45 CEST, Iceland vs Germany, Reykjavik
A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Spanish left-back Miguel Gutiérrez from Napoli. The 25-year-old has signed a contract with the club to 30 June 2031. Gutiérrez came through the youth ranks at Real Madrid; he moved to Italy a year ago from Girona, and he played a key role for Napoli with 36 appearances. The big Italian club finished last season as runners-up in Serie A.
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New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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