
Brandt earned his eleventh full international cap in Prague. The Werkself number ten was replaced by Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) on 61 minutes in a tactical switch. Joachim Löw’s team secured their lead at the top of Group C against the neighbours in third place with goals from Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) and Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich). The two Bayer 04 pros Bernd Leno and Benjamin Henrichs, who were also in the squad, did not play. They may feature against Norway in Stuttgart on Monday (20.45 CET). Earlier in the evening, Jonathan Tah and the Germany U21s lost 2-1 to Hungary in a friendly. The captain of Germany's junior side played the first 45 minutes in central defence.
Six other Bayer 04 players appeared in qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Bayer 04 new signing Panagiotis Retsos had two reasons to celebrate on Thursday: First came the official announcement of the 19-year-old signing for the Werkself and then, in the evening, the central defender made his international deputy for Greece (Group H) in a 0-0 draw against Estonia and he played the full 90 minutes.
The friendly between the Germany U19 side and Switzerland also ended goalless. Kai Havertz, Sam Schreck and Atakan Akkaynak were in the Germany team.
Admir Mehmedi and Switzerland clocked up a 3-0 victory over Andorra to maintain their position at the top of Group E.
Charles Aránguiz was out of luck in South America. The Werkself's Chilean international played in a surprising 3-0 defeat against Paraguay. The 28-year-old went the full distance and he also picked up a yellow card.
Julian Baumgartlinger is set to play for Austria in Group D on Saturday against Wales who are equal on points. Vladlen Yurchenko and the Ukraine face Turkey, level on points in fourth place in Group I.

Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among the three nominees for the Bundesliga’s 2025/26 Rookie of the Season award. Fans have until 23:59 CEST on Thursday, 7 May to cast their votes in the official Bundesliga app.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 4-0 win at SGS Essen on the 24th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Bayer 04 Women have kept their chance of qualifying for the Champions League alive in the Bundesliga run-in. Coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 4-0 at SGS Essen on Sunday afternoon, improving their record from last season to 14 wins this term. With 43 points, the Werkself equalled another record from the 2024/25 season and at the same time reduced the gap to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt to two points, at least for tonight. Loreen Bender (4’), Kristin Kögel (41’, 68’) and Cornelia Kramer (89’) scored for the Black and Reds, who dominated the game to record their fourth win on the bounce.
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With the 4-1 home win against RB Leipzig, the Werkself not only ended the run of five consecutive victories for RBL, but also moved up to fourth place, which would ensure qualification for the UEFA Champions League. While the media praised the impressive performance of Leverkusen's hat-trick hero Patrik Schick in particular, the team and coach were delighted with the "fantastic energy" from the stands and are looking to take the momentum into the remaining two games: "We have to perform like we did today in Stuttgart!" The Werkself review.
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