In an exciting encounter, the team coached by Christian Wück came back from a goal down at half-time to secure 2-1 win in the last minute with goals from Elias Abouchabaka of RB Leipzig (66') and Jan-Fiete Arp of Hamburg SV (79'). Bayer 04 talent Jan Boller played from the start in central defence and, together with Lars Mai, they made an impressive contribution to Germany taking control in the second half Lars Mai.
Wück proud of his team
"We showed a lot of passion in the second half and we were determined to win. Hats off to my team for the way they turned the game round. We created goalscoring opportunities in the second half and made our own luck,", said coach Wück in an interview with dfb.de.
Semi-final against Spain
The semi-final on Tuesday (20.30 CET, live on Eurosport) against favourites Spain poses the biggest challenge's possible in this tournament. However, the target is clear for the German lads. "Of course, we want to go through to the European Championship final," said quarter-final goalscorer Abouchabaka. Bad luck for Jan Boller as he is suspended for the game against Spain after picking up a second yellow card.,
The second semi-final is between Turkey and England. The final of the tournament Croatia is on Friday .
Former Bundesliga and Germany keeper Manfred Manglitz, who was promoted to the Oberliga West with Bayer 04 in 1962, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
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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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Following the summer break of around two months, the Bayer 04 first team squad took to the training pitches at the BayArena for the first time on Tuesday – and the players were in high spirits. Alongside the newly formed coaching team led by head coach Carles Martínez, new signing Afonso Moreira also completed his first session with the squad. In front of several hundred Bayer 04 fans at the open session, numerous Werkself players worked up a good sweat. The Leverkusen players who took part in the World Cup will join pre-season training at a later date.
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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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