Mexico made a bright start to the game but were initially unable to create any clear-cut chances. In contrast, Portugal looked flat at first but it was the European Champions who had the first opportunity: A volley from Cristiano Ronaldo crashed against the bar on 21 minutes and Pepe was on hand to put the rebound in the net. The goal was ruled out following an intervention by the video referee. The Portuguese upped their game and their efforts were rewarded on 34 minutes when Quaresma opened the scoring. The Mexicans refused to give up and Chicharito levelled before the break with a wonderful flying header on 41 minutes.
The second half proved to be dour before coming to life again in the closing stages: Cedric made it 2-1 for Portugal on 86 minutes but the tireless Mexicans hit back as the European Champions appeared to be certain of winning the game. The central defender Moreno netted a deserved equaliser in added time. Chicharito played the full 90 minutes and he is set to play again on Wednesday at 20.00 CET when Mexico take on New Zealand.
Chile score late on against Cameroon
Charles Aránguiz, former Leverkusen player Arturo Vidal and La Roja started the game, as expected, with a dominant and aggressive approach. They succeeded in creating a number of chances in the opening minutes. There were plenty of goalscoring opportunities in the match as Cameroon showed their strength in counter-attacks and set pieces. However, the ball did not end up in the back of the net until added time in the first half. Vargas put away a diagonal ball from Vidal but the celebrations were cut short. Video evidence proved that Vargas was just offside.
The two sides competed on equal terms after the restart as Cameroon were significantly livelier. At the same time, neither side was able to finish. Chile only found their scoring boots in the closing stages of the match: Vidal scored with a header on 81 minutes and, in added time, Vargas doubled the lead after Sanchez failed to score. Aránguiz was substituted on 71 minutes and his next outing is a special match on Thursday at 20.00 CET against his team-mates Leno, Henrichs and Brandt.
Bernd Leno in goal against Australia
Germany play their first game in the tournament in Russia on Monday evening at 17.00 CET. At the press conference on Saturday, Joachim Löw confirmed Bernd Leno will be in goal against Australia for his fifth international cap. The Germany coach also has two other Bayer 04 players available in Benjamin Henrichs and Julian Brandt.
U21s beat Czech Republic in opener
The Germany U21 side started their European Championship finals on Sunday. Max Meyer scored the first goal against the Czech Republic on 44 minutes before Serge Gnabry made it 2-0 after the restart. Germany could have won by a bigger margin with Davie Selke missing a penalty. Dominik Kohr did not play. The next group match is against Denmark on Wednesday night at 20.45 CET.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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