Germany play Israel in Sinsheim on Saturday 26 March (kick-off: 20.45 CET) in the first international in the World Cup year of 2022. That is followed three days later by the classic fixture against the Netherlands with the kick-off also at 20.45 CEST. Jonathan Tah is again in the Germany squad as was the case with the last international break in November. The 26-year-old, at Leverkusen since 2015, has 14 full international caps to date.
The day before the first friendly for Germany, there is a head-to-head clash between Werkself players in Marseille: Moussa Diaby has been called up to the World Cup winners squad for France and Odilon Kossounou is again in the Ivory Coast squad. The kick-off is at 21.15 CET.
There is also a Leverkusen head-to-head in the South American World Cup qualifiers: Ecuador, with Piero Hincapie, entertain Argentina, including teammate Exequiel Palacios, on Wednesday 30 March (kick-off: 01.30 CEST). While the second-placed La Albiceleste are already qualified for the tournament in Qatar, Ecuador also have a good chance of qualifying in third place. Hincapie and Co. have two games to play with a four-point advantage over the play-off spot of fifth.
Right-back Jeremie Frimpong was also due to be on international duty – and it would have been a very special occasion for him: The 21-year-old had been called up to the Netherlands full international squad for the first time. Frimpong suffered an ankle injury in last weekend's 1-0 derby defeat against FC Köln and he will be sidelined for the rest of the season. The Netherlands have friendlies against Denmark (26 March) and Germany (29 March).
Jonathan Tah (Germany):
Saturday 26 March: Germany vs Israel (Friendly)
Tuesday 29 March: Netherlands vs Germany (Friendly)
Moussa Diaby (France):
Friday 25 March: France vs Ivory Coast (Friendly)
Tuesday 29 March: France vs South Africa (Friendly)
Lukas Hradecky (Finland):
Saturday 26 March: Finland vs Israel (Friendly)
Tuesday 29 March: Finland vs Slovakia (Friendly)
Exequiel Palacios (Argentina):
Saturday 26 March: Argentina vs Venezuela (World Cup qualifier)
Wednesday 30 March: Ecuador vs Argentina (World Cup qualifier)
Charles Aránguiz (Chile):
Friday 25 March: Brazil vs Chile (World Cup qualifier)
Wednesday 30 March: Chile vs Uruguay (World Cup qualifier)
Piero Hincapie (Ecuador):
Friday 25 March: Paraguay vs Ecuador (World Cup qualifier)
Wednesday 30 March: Ecuador vs Argentina (World Cup qualifier)
Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast):
Friday 25 March: France vs Ivory Coast (Friendly)
Tuesday 29 March: England vs Ivory Coast (Friendly)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso):
Thursday 24 March: Kosovo vs Burkina Faso (Friendly)
Tuesday 29 March: Belgium vs Burkina Faso (Friendly)
Sardar Azmoun (Iran):
Thursday 24 March: South Korea vs Iran (World Cup qualifier)
Tuesday 29 March: Iran vs Lebanon (World Cup qualifier)
Amine Adli (France U21):
Thursday 24 March: France U21 vs Faroe Isles U21 (Euros qualifier)
Monday 28 March: France U21 vs Northern Ireland U21 (Friendly)
Mitchel Bakker (Netherlands U21):
Friday 25 March: Bulgaria U21 vs Netherlands U21 (Euros qualifier)
Tuesday 29 March: Netherlands U21 vs Switzerland U21 (Euros qualifier)
Iker Bravo (Spain U17):
Wednesday 23 March: Bosnia-Herzegovina U17 vs Spain U17 (Euros qualifier)
Saturday 26 March: Spain U17 vs Belgium U17 (Euros qualifier)
Tuesday 29 March: Estonia U17 vs Spain U17 (Euros qualifier)
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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