The only goal of the game in front of 58,000 spectators at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro was scored by Edison Cavani (Paris Saint Germain) on 82 minutes. Charles Aránguiz played the whole game in the centre of a four-man midfield and he produced a good performance – however the Werkself number 20 was unable to provide an assist as he had done in the previous two matches. The defeat meant titleholders Chile ended up with one point less than Uruguay and thereby go through to the last eight as group runners-up. La Roja will face Colombia on Saturday (29 June, 01.00 CET) after they won Group B with three wins ahead of Argentina, Paraguay and Qatar.
After Aránguiz, Jonathan Tah (U21 Euros) and Leon Bailey (Gold Cup), Mark Lamti – as the fourth Black and Red player – started a tournament on Monday night. At the Africa Cup (21 June to 19 July in Egypt), the Bayer 04 U19 player was in the squad for his home country Tunisia in the first match in Group E that ended in a 1-1 draw with Angola. Lamti, who trained with the Werkself senior squad last season under the watchful eyes of head coach Peter Bosz and surprisingly made his full international debut for Tunisia at the start of June, was on the bench for the World Cup participants of 2016 for the duration of the match. Tunisia play Mali in the second group match on Friday (20 June, 16.30 CET).
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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