Leno and Brandt contributed to Germany winning the Confed Cup in Russia last summer. And with impressive performances in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup they could again be considered by Joachim Löw. The same applies to U21 international captain Tah, who – exactly like Leno – received a vote of confidence from the Germany coach at the European Championships in France two years ago. "I'm very happy the three are in the provisional World Cup squad. Bernd, Jonathan and Julian have earned that after a great season at Bayer 04 where they were top performers and now they will do all they can to make it to Russia," said Bayer 04 sporting director Rudi Völler.
Bernd Leno was first included in the Germany squad in October 2015 and has since earned six caps. Last season, the 26-year-old Werkself number one only missed one competitive match (in the league against Borussia Dortmund due to a knee injury) – in the remaining 38 games he was in goal for the Herrlich team. Julian Brandt is also undoubtedly one of the key players at Bayer 04 and he played in every competitive match for the Black and Reds this season. The 22-year-old midfielder scored 12 goals (including nine in the league) and also provided seven assists. He made his full international debut at the end of May 2016 and has since played 13 games for Germany scoring one goal. U21 captain Jonathan Tah (three internationals) made his debut for Joachim Löw two years ago with the 22-year-old central defender primarily featuring for the Germany junior team. This season he has played 33 games for the Werkself (28 in the league, five in the DFB Cup) and he is one of the best ball winners in the league (with over 70 per cent of challenges won).
In addition to Leno, Brandt and Tah, Werkself pro Tin Jedvaj can dream of playing in the World Cup in Russia: The 22-year-old defender has been called up to the provisional Croatia squad by national coach Zlatko Dalić.
The Germany squad with 27 players set off for a training camp in South Tyrol next week. After a friendly against Austria (2 June, 18.00 CET), Joachim Löw will have two days to inform FIFA of his 23-man squad for the World Cup finals. The final squad will have one last friendly ahead of the tournament on 8 June when Germany meet Saudi Arabia at the BayArena (19.30 CET).
The first World Cup game for Germany (Group F) on 17 June (17.00 CET) is against Mexico with the road to the Round of 16 bringing the other group matches against Sweden (23 June, 20.00 CET) and South Korea (27 June, 16.00 CET).
The Bundesliga has announced the nominees for the ‘Top Goal of the Month’ award for October. Fans of the Werkself can now vote for, amongst others, Robert Andrich’s stunning volley from the match against Mainz 05 or Moussa Diaby’s curling shot into the top corner from the same fixture. Voting, exclusively on the Bundesliga app, remains open until Sunday, 8 November (23:59 CET).
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Bayer 04 host Borussia Mönchengladbach at the BayArena on matchday 12 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 host Eintracht Frankfurt at the BayArena on matchday 14 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The schedule for the game remains to be confirmed. The latest information on ticket sales.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the women's DFB-Pokal 2026/27
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The Bayer 04 women’s team have failed to reach the DFB Pokal quarter-finals. Coach Roberto Pätzold’s side lost 1-0 away to Bayern Munich in the Round of 16. Pernille Harder scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute for the reigning double winners, who have now gone 63 matches unbeaten at national level.
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