Germany dominated proceedings from the kick-off. Most of the attacks came via Brandt with the winger providing his first assist on eight minutes as Serge Gnabry opened the scoring. Brandt tried his luck shortly after that but the Fiji keeper saved his effort on goal but Nils Petersen was on hand to tap in the rebound on 14 minutes. Bender put through a brilliant pass on the half-hour mark for Max Meyer to make it 3-0.
The Germany youngsters were on the road to victory but winning by a five-goal margin was essential to ensure progress to the last four. And Brandt certainly played his part: He fed Petersen just before the break for the fifth goal. And Brandt laid on another goal for Petersen in the second half to round off the scoring at 10-0 on 70 minutes. Germany were through to the quarter-final stage of the competition. Hrubesch next leads his players out on Saturday night (18.00 CET) against Portugal in Brasilia.
Krahn in quarter-finals
Annike Krahn is already in the last eight. The Leverkusen central defender and her Germany team-mates lost the final group match against Canada 2-1 but succeeded in finishing second in Group F. A victory on Friday night (21.00 CET) against China in Salvador da Bahia would put the team coached by Silvia Neid in reach of a medal.
Getting ready for the Champions League
BayArena looked spick and span on Wednesday. Preparations are underway for the new Champions League campaign and the Bayer 04 outfitters Anson's brought along the new suits. For the first team, coaching staff and support staff it means: standing still and being measured. New signing Joel Pohjanpalo was followed on Snapchat and the story is available at bayer04snaps until tomorrow night.
Tough training session
That was followed by training. The morning after the 2-1 win in the benefit match at Kickers Offenbach saw the coaching staff hold a two-hour session with intensive drills focussing on technique and tactics. The first team squad put in a shift with circuits, passing practice and moves on the agenda with Levin Öztunali sharing his opinion with Bayer 04 TV: “We’ve worked really hard today and over the past few weeks. The season can start soon.”
Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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Carles Martìnez is raring to go. The 42-year-old speaks in his first interview in Leverkusen about the club's development to date and how he wants to build on it. He describes his previous work in France, Kuwait, Qatar and his native Barcelona, his experience in developing young players, and the key steps between now and the start of pre-season training.
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New Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez has arrived in Leverkusen! At midday on Friday, the 42-year-old spoke in a press conference at the BayArena about his philosophy and his aims. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes also discussed the reasons for appointing the former Toulouse boss.
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