
The Germany coach – as in the previous international squad selections - has again recognised the continuing impressive performances of the two Confed Cup winners. Julian Brandt is on the verge of making his thirteenth full international appearance (one goal), and Bernd Leno could earn his seventh cap for Germany. Both players were in the starting line-up for the 5-1 win in the World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan and they played the full 90 minutes.
After successfully qualifying for next summer's World Cup in Russia, Germany now have two friendlies against England at Wembley Stadium on Friday (10 November, 21.00 CET) and against France in Cologne on Tuesday (14 November, 20.45 CET).
Jonathan Tah and Benny Henrichs were called up to the Germany U21 squad by coach Stefan Kuntz on Thursday. Further international call ups for Werkself players will be announced by the relevant associations in the next few days.

The fixture details for the Bayer 04 Women’s first match in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been confirmed: As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning, the Leverkusen Women will face second-tier side FC Viktoria Berlin in the first round on Sunday 27 September at 14:00 CEST.
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Once again, well over 100 Werkself fans were delighted to receive an invitation from the club’s record appearance-maker, Rüdiger Vollborn, to the sold-out Schwadbud at the BayArena. This time, the supporters listened as the club historian provided fascinating, exclusive insights into the period from Bayer 04 being founded in 1904 to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979. A journey through time is also planned for the upcoming ‘Rudi lädt ein’ event in early November – this time focusing on the years of the Nazi regime.
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Getting in the mood for the new season together, exchanging ideas and looking ahead to the coming months: Bayer 04 welcomed partners to the BayArena for the annual sponsors season-launch event. In a relaxed atmosphere, the management, head coach and players came together with representatives from partner companies to celebrate the start of the 2026/27 season.
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Happy children’s faces at the SSV Lützenkirchen training ground: For the 25th time, the Birkenberg soccer school – organised by SportBund Leverkusen – offered participating youngsters an exciting holiday activity. Meeting a Bayer 04 player has now become a cherished tradition. This time, Ibrahim Maza visited the 150 children and spoke to them about his World Cup experiences, amongst other things. “It’s always lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm for football,” said the 20-year-old, after bringing a sparkle to many eyes with selfies and autographs.
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