
Burkina Faso were in the Round of 16 as group runners-up where they faced Gabon who also finished second in their group. In the Cameroonian city of Limbe, Tapsoba’s teammate Bertrand Traore – who used to play for Chelsea in England – missed a penalty early on (18'). The same player then opened the scoring for Burkina Faso. As a strike by Gabon was ruled out just before half-time following the intervention of VAR, they took the lead into the break.
The chances of winning increased for Tapsoba and Co-in the middle of the second half when a Gabon player was shown a second yellow card. However, they conceded a late equaliser in added time – leading to extra time. No more goals were scored. The Leverkusen central defender converted his penalty as the third taker and the game ended with a much celebrated 7-6 victory. Congratulations, Eddy.
In the quarter-finals, Burkina Faso face Tunisia, including FC Köln player Ellyes Skhiri, who surprisingly beat Nigeria 1-0. The match on Saturday, 29 January kicks off at 20.00 CET. The streaming service DAZN will broadcast the match live.
And the second Bayer 04 player to start in the Africa Cup of Nations is also still in the competition: Odilon Kossounou with the Ivory Coast play their Round of 16 tie on Wednesday, 26 January (kick-off: 17.00 CET – also live on DAZN). They are up against record winners Egypt including Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah.

The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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During the first international break of the 2026/27 season, set to last just under three weeks, nine Bayer 04 first-team players are in action with their respective national teams. Read on for updates on matches featuring Werkself players…
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Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
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