
The man of the match in the Ecuadorian capital Quito was a Black and Red: In the World Cup qualifier against Venezuela, Piero Hincapie scored the only goal of the game on 41 minutes to secure three important points for Ecuador in the race to qualify for the World Cup finals next year.
The team including the 19-year-old Leverkusen summer signing now have 20 points and are still in third place, which would be good enough to qualify for the tournament in Qatar. The next game for Ecuador is against Chile on Wednesday, 17 November (kick-off: 01.15 CET).
Amine Adli and the France U21s were also winners. The Bayer 04 player was in the starting line-up in the 7-0 home win against Armenia and he was substituted on 63 minutes with the score at 5-0. The junior Les Bleus team are top of Group H with 13 out of a possible 15 points and on course for the U 21 European Championships in 2023. The last international of the calendar year for Adli and Co. is in North Macedonia on Tuesday, 16 November (kick-off: 18.30 CET).
Germany were also successful against Liechtenstein: The team under coach Hansi Flick clocked up a 9-0 victory in the World Cup qualifier in Wolfsburg. Jonathan Tah did not feature. Germany are the runaway leaders at the top of Group J. The final match in Armenia is on Sunday, 14 November. The kick-off is at 18.00 CET.
On as a substitute, scores a goal, provides an assist – and is a winner. That sums up a successful international afternoon for Emrehan Gedikli. The Leverkusen U19 striker, now on professional terms at Bayer 04, came off the bench on 62 minutes in the opening game of the U19 Euro qualifiers against the Faroe Islands. He scored the goal to make it 2-1 eleven minutes later. The 18-year-old also provided the assist for the final goal at 4-1 (90'). Germany have two other group matches against Russia (30 November) and Greece (16 November).
Iker Bravo and the Spain U19s also started with a win with a 2-1 victory against Luxembourg. The Leverkusen player came on with 63 minutes on the clock. The other opponents in Group 8 are Azerbaijan (30 November) and Belgium (16 November).
Remaining internationals involving Bayer 04 players:
Jonathan Tah (World Cup qualifiers)
14.11, 18.00 CET, Armenia vs Germany, Yerevan
Lukas Hradecky (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 15.00 CET, Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Finland, Zenica
16.11, 20.45 CET, Finland vs France, Helsinki
Moussa Diaby (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 20.45 CET, France vs Kazakhstan, Paris
16.11, 20.45 CET, Finland vs France, Helsinki
Jeremie Frimpong (U21 Euro qualifiers)
2.11, 18.45 CET, Netherlands U21 vs Bulgaria U21, Almere
15.11, 14.00 CET, Gibraltar U21 vs Netherlands U21, Gibraltar
Amine Adli (U21 Euro qualifier)
16.11, 18.30 CET, Macedonia U21 vs France U21, Skopje
Exequiel Palacios (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 00.00 CET, Uruguay vs Argentina, Montevideo
17.11, 00.30 CET, Argentina vs Brazil, San Juan
Piero Hincapie (World Cup qualifier)
17.11., 01.15 CET, Chile vs Ecuador, Santiago de Chile
Edmond Tapsoba (World Cup qualifiers)
12.11, 14.00 CET, Burkina Faso vs Niger, Marrakesh
16.11, 17.00 CET, Algeria vs Burkina Faso, Blida
Odilon Kossounou (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 20.00 CET, Ivory Coast vs Mozambique, Cotonou
16.11, 20.00 CET, Cameroon vs Ivory Coast, Yaoundé
Emrehan Gedikli (U19 Euro qualifiers)
13.11, 13.00 CET, Germany U19 vs Russia U19, Patras
16.11, 14.00 CET, Greece U19 vs Germany U19, Nafpaktos
Iker Bravo (U19 Euro qualifiers)
13.11, 18.00 CET, Spain U19 vs Azerbaijan U19, Bissen
16.11, 18.00 CET, Belgium U19 vs Spain U19, Bissen
Zidan Sertdemir (U19 friendlies)
13.11, 15.00 CET, Georgia U19 vs Denmark U19, Vila Mea
16.11, 11.00 CET, Portugal U19 vs Denmark U19, Capital do Movel

The Werkself face Manchester City for the very first time on Tuesday for Matchday 5 of the league phase in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The hosts sit fourth in the standings and boast huge quality in attack, while Leverkusen are looking to improve their meagre record of just one win from the last 10 games away at English clubs. A key player in that regard could be Aleix Garcia, the former City midfielder who ranks highly in several passing metrics in the Champions League this season. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Werkself's next European trip takes them to the north-west of England as Kasper Hjulmand's side take on Manchester City on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET) on Matchday 5 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. As usual, we'll take you along on the #aCROSSeurope journey and report from Manchester. All times listed are in CET.
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The dress rehearsal in the Premier League for the match against the Werkself did not go well at the weekend. However, Manchester City are still unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League, the competition they won in 2023. In the first encounter with Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Pep Guardiola will be able to field just about his best line-up. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Will the Bayer 04 U19s take the next step towards their first appearance in the knockout stage of the UEFA Youth League in the away game at Manchester City? Coach Kevin Brok is well aware of this historic opportunity, but he's not about to start worrying about the maths: "We're not concerned with the question of what might be good enough. We invest everything we can and always aim for the maximum. That's our way." The game on this penultimate Matchday 5 of the league phase takes place on Tuesday, 25 November (kick-off: 16:00 CET) at the Manchester City Academy Stadium. Werkself TV will be broadcasting the whole match exclusively for Bayer 04 club members live from 15:50 CET....
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€1,000 and food for a good cause: In keeping with the long-standing cooperation between Bayer 04 and the Tafel Leverkusen e.V. food bank, the U19s are also supporting the charitable organisation in the region. In addition to the generous cheque the team were able to donate to an organisation of their choice as a result of their participation in the UEFA Youth League, coach Kevin Brok's lads donated €500 worth of food - financed by their own team kitty. Ferdinand Pohl, Jesper Schlich and Co. also actively helped to stow the food in the Tafel's premises.
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