It was an important victory: Ecuador secured a comfortable 3-0 win against Bolivia in their World Cup qualifier to cement their third place in the South American group. Bayer 04 player Piero Hincapie played his part in that success helping to keep a clean sheet over the 90 minutes. The goals for La Tri were scored by Michael Estrada (14') and a brace from Enner Valencia (17', 19'). The first four teams qualify directly for the tournament in Qatar. The team finishing fifth will go through to a play-off for the World Cup finals against the representative from Oceania
Qualification for the next World Cup will now be a major achievement for Charles Aránguiz. Following the 2-0 defeat against Peru, Chile only have seven points. Aránguiz was in the starting line-up but was replaced by Diego Valdes on 65 minutes. La Roja are now seven points behind fifth-placed Colombia.
The Leverkusen South American quartet in the current international break also includes the two Argentinians Exequiel Palacios and Lucas Alario. The Bayer 04 players watched from the sidelines in the night from Thursday to Friday as the team drew 0-0 against Paraguay. The next opportunity for international action for the duo is on Monday, 11 October (kick-off: 01.30 CEST) with the game against Uruguay.
There was an incredible case of catch-up on Thursday night in the Nations League semi-final between Belgium and France. The Equipe Tricolore were 2-0 down at half-time. The team under coach Didier Deschamps fought back in the second half and turned the game around almost with the final kick of the game to make it 3-2 – the winner came on 90 minutes. The Werkself winger Moussa Diaby watched proceedings from the bench with the 22-year-old missing out on his third appearance for his national team. The final in the Nations League is on Sunday, 10 October (kick-off: 20.45 CEST). France face Spain.
Zidan Sertdemir was on the winning side on Wednesday in a European Championship qualifier with the Denmark U17s as they secured a 2-0 victory over Montenegro. The six foot tall Bayer 04 midfielder scored both goals to make a significant contribution to his team's success. The Leverkusen player is back in action on Saturday afternoon, 9 October (kick-off: 16.00 CEST). Denmark play Malta.
Florian Wirtz (World Cup qualifiers)
8.10, 20.45 CEST, Germany vs Rumania, Hamburg
11.10, 20.45 CEST, North Macedonia vs Germany, Skopje
Lukas Hradecky (World Cup qualifiers)
9.10, 18.00 CEST, Finland vs Ukraine, Helsinki
12.10, 16.00 CEST, Kazakhstan vs Finland, Nur-Sultan
Patrik Schick (World Cup qualifiers)
8.10, 20.45 CEST, Czech Republic vs Wales, Prague
11.10, 20.45 CEST, Belarus vs Czech Republic, Kazan
Andrey Lunev (World Cup qualifiers)
8.10, 20.45 CEST, Russia vs Slovakia, Kazan
11.10, 20.45 CEST, Slovenia vs Russia, Maribor
Moussa Diaby (Nations League)
10.10, 20.45 CEST, Spain vs France, Milan (Finale)
Charles Aránguiz (World Cup qualifiers)
11.10, 02.00 CEST, Chile vs Paraguay, Santiago
15.10, 02.00 CEST, Chile vs Venezuela, Santiago
Exequiel Palacios and Lucas Alario (World Cup qualifiers)
11.10, 01.30 CEST, Argentina vs Uruguay, Buenos Aires
15.10, 01.30 CEST, Argentina vs Peru, Buenos Aires
Piero Hincapie (World Cup qualifiers)
10.10, 22.30 CEST, Venezuela vs Ecuador, Caracas
14.10, 23.00 CEST, Colombia vs Ecuador, Barranquilla
Odilon Kossounou (World Cup qualifiers)
8.10, 15.00 CEST, Malawi vs Ivory Coast, Johannesburg
11.10, 18.00 CEST, Ivory Coast vs Malawi, Marrakesh
Mitchel Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong (U21 Euro qualifiers)
8.10, 19.00 CEST, Switzerland vs Netherlands, Lausanne
12.10, 20.00 CEST, Netherlands vs Wales, Nijmegen
Amine Adli (U21 Euro qualifiers)
8.10, 18.30 CEST, France vs Ukraine, Brest
12.10, 18.30 CEST, Serbia vs France, Belgrade
Zidan Sertdemir (U17 Euro qualifiers)
9.10, 16.00 CEST, Malta vs Denmark, Paola
12.10, 11.00 CEST, Denmark vs Turkey, Paola
BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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Alejo Sarco has left Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join Sporting Gijón in Spain’s second division. Bayer 04 have secured a buy-back clause for the 20-year-old Argentine striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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