The start of the black and red evening at the Euros saw Austria with Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger play Ukraine for second place in Group C. Austria came out on top to secure qualification for the Round of 16 the team under coach Franco Foda.
With Dragovic in the starting line-up, Christoph Baumgartner (TSG Hoffenheim) scored the only goal of the game on 21 minutes. Baumgartlinger was not in the squad as was the case in the 2-0 defeat against the Netherlands.
As the second-placed team in Group C, Austria meet Italy, the runaway winners of Group A, in the Round of 16. The kick-off on Saturday, 26 June, is at 21.00 CEST with the match probably played in London.
Group B was also decided this evening. Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and striker Joel Pohjanpalo were up against the group favourites Belgium while Russia and Denmark played each other at the same time. The Finish team were level at 0-0 at half-time, also due in part to several impressive interventions by Hradecky. Belgium broke the deadlock with 15 minutes to play: From a corner, Thomas Vermaelen hit the woodwork and the ball bounced down off the arm of the Finnish keeper over the line. The second goal of the game was scored by striker Romelu Lukaku (81').
Finland finished third in Group B on three points and now they have to wait for the remaining results in the parallel groups. Four of the six third-placed teams will reach the Round of 16.
The fifth Werkself player at Euro 2020, Patrik Schick, is in a position to cause a medium surprise with his Czech Republic teammates and, like Austria, also go through under their own steam. The team ranked 40th in the world are currently top of Group D with four points from two games. The last group encounter for the Czech Republic is on Tuesday, 22 June (kick-off: 21.00 CEST) against England who have the same number of points. A draw would see Schick and his fellow players in the 'Reprezentace' go through to the Round of 16.
No points in the Kraichgau: the Werkself lost 1-0 away to top-six rivals TSG Hoffenheim on Bundesliga Matchday 18. Wouter Burger scored the only goal with a free kick in the ninth minute. In an uneventful contest, the Werkself tried hard to find an equaliser but were repeatedly thwarted.
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The meeting between fifth and sixth on Saturday afternoon (17 January, 15:30 CET) is a hard one to predict. While the Werkself can take confidence from their historic record at TSG Hoffenheim, the hosts are currently enjoying their second-best Bundesliga campaign and have lost just one of their last 10 games. Another good omen for Bayer 04: Daniel Schlager also refereed Leverkusen's last victory in Sinsheim (4-1). The Matchday News.
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At the end of the winter training camp in Portugal, the Bayer 04 Women convincingly mastered their friendly ahead of the start of the second half of the season. In the match against Swiss league leaders Servette FCCF, coach Roberto Pätzold's team won 3-0 at the Monte Gordo Sports Complex. Carlotta Wamser (4’), Vanessa Fudalla (18’) and Loreen Bender (53’) scored for Bayer 04, who have been preparing for the Rückrunde in the Algarve since last Saturday.
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The German Football League (DFL) has rescheduled the postponed fixture at Hamburger SV on Bundesliga matchday 17. The match, due to be played on Tuesday, has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, 4 March (kick-off: 20:30 CET).
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The Rückrunde is about to begin: The Werkself travel to TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday, 17 January (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 18. At the pre-match press conference on Friday lunchtime, head coach Kasper Hjulmand emphasised the double anticipation for the clash following Tuesday's postponement of the fixture at Hamburger SV. And he also talked about the tactical approach against an opponent on course for Champions League qualification.
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