Germany were first out of the blocks. Stindl opened the scoring with a crisp shot from ten yards out. The assist was provided by the Leverkusen livewire Brandt who produced an incredibly impressive international performance. The 21-year-old covered a lot of ground, including down both wings, and he was involved in nearly all of Germany's attacks.
Brandt was unlucky on 21 minutes when the Aussie goalkeeper Mathew Ryan saved his effort on goal. Leno was also unlucky when Thomas Rogic levelled the scores on 41 minutes. Shkodran Mustafi blocked the first shot as Leno dived to the left but the keeper was unable to recover in time to save the second shot on goal. Julian Draxler restored Germany's lead three minutes later to make it 2-1 at half-time.
"It was a very, very good first half with good moves," said Germany coach Joachim Löw before adding: "Unfortunately it was only 2-1. A lot of players were making their first appearance at a tournament. I'm completely satisfied."
Germany made the perfect start after the break. Joshua Kimmich provided the assist for Leon Goretzka to make it 3-1 with a volley on 47 minutes.
Australia refused to give up. And they benefited from a deflection: Leno was unable to hold onto deflected long-range effort and Tomi Juric was able to bundle the ball into the net on 57 minutes. Referee Mark Geiger consulted the video evidence before awarding the goal. Brandt's game ended shortly after that. The striker was replaced on 63 minutes by the Liverpool and former Leverkusen player Emre Can.
Neither side was able to find the back of the net for the rest of the game. Germany deserved to win overall thanks to a superior first half. The game failed to flow in the second half.
Chile and Charles Aranguiz on Thursday
Germany's next game is against Chile on Thursday night at 20.00 CET in Kasan. The Leverkusen trio are set to face their team-mate Charles Aranguiz who played in Chile's opening match that saw La Roja beat Cameroon 2-0.
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 3-2 win against RB Leipzig on the 12th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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For the second time in three weeks, Bayer 04 have to face a team that has just changed coach. The Werkself’s overall record against Augsburg and the Bavarians’ poor season so far both point towards a Leverkusen win, but head coach Kasper Hjulmand is still aware of the threat going into Saturday’s Bundesliga encounter (kick-off: 15:30 CET). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 13 fixture at the WWK Arena.
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The groups for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico have been finalised. At the draw in the USA capital Washington D.C., which was hosted by German top model Heidi Klum and others, 48 teams were drawn for the first time. The groups at a glance.
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As part of the joint commitment of Bayer 04 and the City of Leverkusen to volunteering, the annual Volunteer Day took place in the 19nullvier Lounge at the BayArena. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, Stefan Hebbel, Mayor of the City of Leverkusen, and club representative Stefan Kießling praised the commitment of the 200 or so volunteers from the region in attendance and thanked them for their impressive efforts.
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