
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.

Ten years after retiring as a player, Kristina Sundov is returning to the Bayer 04 Women’s team as assistant coach. The 39-year-old former Croatia international takes over from Remzi Kahraman, who has taken up a new challenge abroad. She has been given a contract to 30 June 2028.
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The training pitches at the BayArena are already buzzing with activity again, even before training officially begins next week. On Monday morning, a small group from the Werkself first-team squad completed a session lasting around an hour. Both new and familiar faces were present.
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One ticket, two matches – and a varied programme of events, including appearances by players from the professional teams: Bayer 04 has come up with something very special for the 2026 season launch on Saturday, 8 August. From morning right through to the evening, Werkself fans can use just one ticket to not only enjoy top-class football from the Bayer 04 teams live, but also to experience unforgettable moments with the whole family through a variety of hands-on activities around the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The day will also end on a real high note: after both matches, Bayer 04 supporters will have the opportunity to interact directly with the players during joint activities and get to know them from a different angle.
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Issa Traoré is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Slovakian top-flight side AS Trencin. The club has loaned the centre-back out for one year to this year’s ninth-placed team in the Slovakian league.
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