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
Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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Following on from the emotional last-minute win at Union Berlin, the Bayer 04 Women now face a promoted team: On Saturday, 31 January (12:00 CET), coach Roberto Pätzold's team welcome FC Nürnberg to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for their first home game of the new year. In their second season in the Bundesliga, the Franconians have impressed with 16 points from the first 15 games.
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