The final UEFA Nations League matches of the year have been played: The Czech Republic with Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek faced Switzerland. While neither of the teams could climb above Spain and Portugal to the top of Group 2 in League A this game was about avoiding relegation to League B. Schick and Co. needed a win against Switzerland to overtake them – but they had to settle for a 2-1 defeat in the end. The Swiss went ahead with a double strike (29’, 30’) and the reply from Schick just before half-time was not enough in the race to stay in League A. The centre-forward played the full game and Hlozek remained on the bench.
Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky also ended their Nations League games on foreign soil: The Werkself captain, who led out the Eagle Owls as usual, was more successful with his fellow countryman in Montenegro than his Czech teammates. On matchday six in Group 3 in League B, Hradecky and Co. won 2-0 with a brace after the restart to replace Montenegro in second place.
Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso and Odilon Kossounou with the Ivory Coast ended the international break with friendly fixtures. Tapsoba and Co. beat Comoros 2-1 with the Bayer 04 defender playing the full 90 minutes in his international appearance number 31. Kossounou did not play in the 3-1 win for the Ivory Coast against Guinea.
Sardar Azmoun and his fellow Iranian countrymen played Senegal in a friendly in Austria. Senegal took the lead on 55 minutes. The Bayer 04 forward came off the bench four minutes later and Azmoun levelled the scores at 1-1 five minutes after that.
The friendly between Japan and Ecuador ended goalless. Werkself defender Piero Hincapie played the whole game at the Merkur Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf.
The Netherlands U21 team with Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker in the starting line-up only managed a 0-0 draw against Romania. Both Leverkusen players were on for the first half.
Zidan Sertdemir and the Denmark U19s lost 4-2 to England in the Euro qualifiers. The Werkself player went off at half-time with the score at 0-0. Denmark are second in Group 9 behind England.
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Behind twice, Alejandro Grimaldo's next free-kick goal, six UCL debuts and a last-minute equaliser - Bayer 04 and FC Copenhagen delivered an entertaining game with a nerve-wracking finale on matchday 1 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. The Werkself review brings you facts, stats and opinions on the opening game in Europe’s elite competition this term.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-2 draw at FC Copenhagen on the 1st matchday of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26...
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A nerve-wracking start to Europe's premier club competition! On Matchday 1 of the group stage of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, the Werkself drew 2-2 (0-1) with Danish record champions FC Copenhagen. After an early goal from Jordan Larsson (9'), the Werkself equalised late on with another direct free kick from Alejandro Grimaldo (82'). The hosts responded just four minutes later with a goal that put them 2-1 up. But Leverkusen refused to give up and, within five minutes, Pantelis Hatzidiakos was forced into scoring an own goal (90+1) to make it 2-2, which is how the game ended.
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Opening victory in the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League! Bayer 04 won 2-0 (1-0) at FC Copenhagen on Matchday 1 of the international youth competition. Emmanuel Chigozie Owen scored both goals of the game for a clinical Werkself in front of 452 spectators at Tingbjerg Idrætspark.
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