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
The Werkself conceded a goal at home for the first time since the beginning of January 67 minutes into the game against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday. Jarell Quansah levelled late on for the final score of 1-1 to secure a point and avoid a first home defeat in six games. Bayer 04 were very critical of their performance after the game. The Werkself review.
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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 special edition jerseys to fan banners, the home game against Mainz 05 was all about the many Bayer 04 fan clubs. Accordingly, a fitting tribute to the long-standing Werkself supporters was not to be missed during half-time in the Bundesliga match. Fernando Carro, CEO, honoured the up to 50-year anniversaries of six fan clubs in front of the coaches' benches at the BayArena.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 on Matchday 24 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
A late goal secured a point for Bayer 04 at home to FSV Mainz 05 in a match that saw the Black and Reds dominant in the second half. Despite lots of possession, the Werkself initially found few gaps and fell behind after 67 minutes when Sheraldo Becker scored in a Mainz counter-attack. In the closing stages, Leverkusen threw everything forward once again and equalised through Jarell Quansah (88').
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