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)
Just in time for the start of the school year, everyone was hard at work again at NaturGut Ophoven. For the 21st time, Bayer 04 have supported the annual ‘BioBrotbox’ campaign, which puts together a healthy breakfast for first-year primary school pupils in Leverkusen – and not only contributed 1,904 muesli bars but also plenty of enthusiasm too: Together with the U19 players Burak Kir and Clinton Wilson, Emily Wallrabenstein and Paulina Platner from the Women’s Bundesliga team helped with the packing. The latter was clearly delighted “that Bayer 04 are helping out with regional projects like this and showing their commitment to the local community”.
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A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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The men's clothing retailer LERROS will remain the official fashion and premium partner of Bayer 04 for the current season. As in the past, LERROS will provide the club's men's team, coaching staff and management with high-quality clothing for international trips.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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