At the start of the international break, Germany were only able to draw 3-3 against Turkey on Wednesday night; the Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Nadiem Amiri came on in the second half. The friendly involving Germany is followed by a Nations League clash in Ukraine on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 20.45 CEST/live on ARD). Germany coach Joachim Löw announced his 23-man squad for the away game on Thursday.
The 60-year-old has kept Werkself central defender Tah in his squad alongside former Leverkusen players Bernd Leno, Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz. In contrast, Nadiem Amiri will not travel to Ukraine. The 23-year-old is one of five players Löw has not included in his squad for the next game.
The youngest Bundesliga goalscorer, the gold Fritz Walter Medal – and the next sporting milestone in sight. Bayer 04 youngster Florian Wirtz is in the current U21 squad and, if he plays in the Euro qualifier against Moldova on Friday, 9 October (kick-off: 18.15 CEST/live on ProSieben MAXX), he will become the youngest Germany U21 international – at the age of 17 years and 159 days.
This week, the U21 head coach Stefan Kuntz again praised the Leverkusen player. “Florian is one of the outstanding talents in Germany,” said the 57-year-old. “We’re happy we have such a very, very big talent here with us. Because he has things that we can’t completely cover in our squad.”
Wirtz was originally due to make his debut for the oldest Germany junior team in September. However, the Werkself’s participation in the Europa League led to the parties agreeing to postpone his debut.
His record last season is worth a look: 7 goals in 24 Bundesliga matches – 3 goals in 4 DFB Cup games– 2 goals in 3 appearances in the Europa League. Lucas Alario always proved reliable in front of the opposition goal last term. The Argentina international is now in his fourth season at the Werkself – and on Wednesday he was 28.
The central striker celebrated his birthday back home in Argentina: Alario, like Exequiel Palacios, is currently playing for La Albiceleste for a place at the World Cup. Bayer 04 wish: Many happy returns on your birthday, Lucas!
Bayer 04 welcomed 14 media representatives from Africa on Friday, 1 December. The trip for journalists from the likes of Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mozambique, Togo, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Togo was organised by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) with the goal of establishing and promoting Africa as a new target market for the Bundesliga.
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Bayer 04 has modernised its media working area in the stands at the BayArena and equipped it with new, multifunctional monitors. The 50 screens will be used for the first time for the fixture against Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 13 in the Bundesliga next Sunday, 3 December (kick-off: 17:30 CET) and offer the media representatives working at the BayArena on matchday numerous possibilities.
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Bayer 04 have little time to recover from their 2-0 win away at Häcken in the UEFA Europe League, ensuring progress to the round of 16, before their next challenge up against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Sunday (17:30 CET). At his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, head coach Xabi Alonso spoke about BVB and gave a warning about not losing focus.
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Spirits are high at Borussia Dortmund following their impressive display and result away at AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. On Sunday (17:30 CET), they want to keep an impressive week going with another scalp in Leverkusen. Here’s the lowdown on our next opponents.
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