As in the first group game against Portugal, Chicharito was in the starting eleven against Russia in Kazan. The record scorer was the lynch pin of his team for the full 90 minutes. Although he didn’t score, he did create a number of chances and could have made it 3-1 with a header. The match was a close-fought affair with Mexico maintaining the upper hand and they were not put off course when Russia opened the scoring.
Mexico moved above Russia to finish second behind European Champions Portugal and thereby progress to the semi-finals where they will meet the other group winner in Sochi on Wednesday. That could be Germany if they beat Cameroon in the final group match in Sochi on Sunday.
The Germany U21s were in action in Poland. Although they lost 1-0 to Italy in Krakow that result was enough to take Germany through to the U21 European Championship semi-finals. Dominik Kohr, who returns to the Werkself for the start of next season, did not play.
Four Leverkusen players are involved in matches on Sunday:
Bernd Leno, Benjamin Henrichs and Julian Brandt are in the Germany squad for final group match in the Confederations Cup against Cameroon at 17:00 CET. Charles Aránguiz and Chile face Asian champions Australia at the same time. Both games are live on TV.
A new look and new kit supplier for the 2025/26 campaign: Bayer 04 in tandem with sports equipment manufacturer New Balance present the official kit for the Leverkusen eSports players the coming season. New partner Sinology appears on the top right of the jersey. Menswear outfitters Lerros is still the main eSports sponsor and Niedax remains the sleeve partner. The jersey is available now from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
Show moreBosnia U19 international Kerim Alajbegovic is moving from Bayer 04 Leverkusen's youth set-up to Red Bull Salzburg. The talented attacking midfielder has signed a long-term contract with the Austrian club. At the same time, the works club secured a buy-back option for the 17-year-old, who was one of the mainstays of the Leverkusen U19s.
Show morePreparations for the 2025/26 season at Bayer 04 start next Monday, 7 July, with the first team and youth players training together. Without the international players who were involved with their national teams at the end of last season, new head coach Erik ten Hag will welcome a group of senior and youth players to the first open training session one week ahead of the departure to the training camp in Rio de Janeiro. After the official welcome in the dressing room, the Werkself players will start the session in the shadow of the BayArena on 7 July at 14:00 CEST.
Show moreThe Werkself are away to Premier League club Chelsea in the final pre-season friendly. The game against the current holders of the UEFA Conference League is on Friday, 8 August at Stamford Bridge with the kick-off at 20:00 CEST. Read on for information on ticket sales.
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