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)
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With sixth place at the end of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign, Bayer 04 ended a season in the top third of the table for the ninth time in a row. While the Werkself were narrowly eliminated in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by eventual finalists Arsenal, the Black and Reds reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third season in succession. As in previous years, you once again have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app up to and including 11 June.
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