On Wednesday afternoon Central European Time, Werkself central defender Edmond Tapsoba played for Burkina Faso against Uganda in Group B of the Africa Cup qualifiers. The 22-year-old, who went the full 90 minutes, kept a clean sheet in Kampala along with his teammates. The goalless draw was enough to stay ahead of the other teams in the group.
Burkina Faso now have nine points from five games. As second-placed Uganda (8 points) and third-placed Malawi (7) play each other on the final matchday then the West African team with the Leverkusen player are already certain of finishing in one of the top two qualifying spots in Group B.
Tapsoba and Co. round off the international break on Monday 29 March against bottom of the table South Sudan (3 points). The kick-off in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou is at 18.00 CEST.
Having surprisingly gone behind, Werkself centre-forward Patrik Schick set Czechia on course for a convincing away win. Playing in Lublin in Poland, Estonia were the opponents for the start of the World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday night. The 'hosts' from the Baltic took an early lead (12') but Schick responded just six minutes later: From a cross from the right, the Leverkusen striker shook off his marker and scored with a volley.
The Czechs then lived up to their role as favourites – and the Werkself player had a big part in that. Schick shone as the provider for the goal is to make it 2-1 (27') and 4-1 (43'). The game was over for the man of the match with ten minutes to play with the scoreboard showing the final score of 6-2.
The Czechs have two qualifiers still to play: The first match on Saturday 27 March (kick-off: 20.45 CET) is against Belgium in Prague. Three days later, they are away to Wales in Cardiff with the kick off again at 20.45 CEST. Schick will only play in the second match as Bayer 04 international players are not allowed to play in so-called 'virus variant areas'– that currently includes the Czech capital Prague.
It can happily carry on like this. The Germany U21 side started in the European Championships on Wednesday night. The team under coach Stefan Kuntz faced one of the two hosts Hungary in Székesfehérvár. It took an hour before Anderlecht's Lukas Nmecha put the dominant Germany team in the lead. That solved the logjam: Ridle Baku from VfL Wolfsburg netted a brace (66', 73 ') final result of a deserved 3-0 win. Bayer 04 goalkeeper Lennart Grill watched proceedings from the bench as Kuntz opted to play the Mainz keeper Finn Dahmen.
Germany have another two matches to play in Group A: On Saturday night, 27 March (kick-off: 21.00 CET/live on ProSieben) the Netherlands provide the opposition. The Dutch junior side surprisingly dropped points in their opening fixture with a 1-1 draw against Romania. Germany will then play Romania three days later.
If Grill and Co. finish first or second after three matches then they will progress to the knockout rounds. They will be played from 31 May to 6 June. That will involve the teams finishing first and second in the four qualifying groups.
Three other Bayer 04 players start the international break on Thursday night. Jonathan Tah and Germany debutant Florian Wirtz face Iceland in Duisburg. The group match kicks off at 20.45 CET and will be broadcast live on RTL and DAZN. The match will take place as planned despite a case of coronavirus within the Germany squad. The test on the unnamed player was positive. The asymptomatic player will immediately self-isolate. "The game will definitely be played," confirmed DFB spokesperson Jens Grittner.
Austria play their match at the same time as Germany. The team including Werkself stalwart Aleksandar Dragovic play Scotland in Glasgow. 'Drago' can also be seen on DAZN.
The remaining international fixtures involving Werkself players:
Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz (Germany):
Thursday, 25 March (20.45 CET, Duisburg): Germany v Iceland (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Sunday, 28 March (20.45 CEST, Bucharest): Rumania v Germany (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Duisburg): Germany v North Macedonia (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Lennart Grill (Germany U21):
Saturday, 27 March (21.00 CET, Székesfehérvár): Germany U21 v Netherlands U21 (Euros, group stage)
Tuesday, 30 March (18.00 CEST, Budapest): Germany U21 v Romania U21 (Euros, group stage)
Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria):
Thursday, 25 March (20.45 CET, Glasgow): Scotland v Austria (World Cup qualifier, Group F)
Sunday, 28 March (20.45 CEST, Vienna): Austria v Faroe Islands (World Cup qualifier, Group F)
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Vienna): Austria v Denmark (World Cup qualifier, Group F)
Patrik Schick (Czechia):
Tuesday, 30 March (20.45 CEST, Cardiff): Wales v Czechia (World Cup qualifier, Group)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso):
Monday, 29 March (18.00 CET, Ouagadougou): Burkina Faso v South Sudan (Africa Cup qualifier, Group B)
High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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Sofie Zdebel is up for the Goal of the Month award for February on ARD-Sportschau. Fans have until 21 March (19:00 CET) to vote for the Germany U23 international's volley to make it 2-0 in the Bayer 04 Women's derby against FC Köln (2-1).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are further expanding their partner network: The feed manufacturer PerNaturam is an official sponsor of the Bayer 04 Womens team. The partnership opens up a wide range of opportunities for the company to position its brand in the Bundesliga environment.
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Do you dream of wearing the Bayer cross on your chest? To play in black and red like your role models Loreen Bender, Cornelia Kramer, Kristin Kögel and co. from the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga? Then take your chance now! Our female youth teams are once again on the lookout for new talent. That's why Bayer 04 are organising a talent day on 12 April 2026 for the first time this year with trials for female juniors.
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