The third-placed team in Group D went into the knockout game against the Dutch as underdogs. In front of a 50,000 plus crowd at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, there was little to report in the first half – but the match livened up after the restart. The Netherlands defender Matthijs de Ligt foiled an attack by the opposition with a deliberate handball and he was shown the red card after the intervention of VAR. The Czechs had the extra player for over half an hour.
Patrik Schick and his team-mates exploited that advantage with Tomas Holes giving the Czech Republic the lead (68’). And the Bayer 04 striker then sealed the win: Schick made it 2-0 on 80 minutes with a left-foot shot with his fourth goal of the tournament. That makes the Leverkusen front man the second highest goalscorer at Euro 2020 behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who was knocked out along with title holders Portugal in a 1-0 defeat against Belgium. “It’s really crazy. Nobody thought we could get this far. We’re incredibly happy, ” said Schick, who went off to a deserved ovation from the fans when he was substituted in added time.
In the quarter-final between the supposed surprise teams, the Czech Republic play Denmark on Saturday, 3 July. The North Europeans clocked up a convincing 4-0 win against Wales in the Round of 16. The kick-off in Baku (Azerbaijan) is at 18.00 CEST. Good luck, Patrik!
Two other Werkself players were involved in the Round of 16. Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger with Austria were up against the impressive Italians. Austria, with Drago on the pitch for the whole game, caused real problems for the team under Roberto Mancini. As a strike by Austria’s Marko Arnautovic was ruled out as offside on 65 minutes, the match went into extra time – Italy came out on top in the end.
Federico Chiesa (95’) and Matteo Pessina (105’) scored for Italy; Sasa Kalajdzic netted a consolation goal at 2-1 on 114 minutes. Drago, the unused Baumi, and Co. were knocked out of Euro 2020 after a brave battle.
For Finland with Werkself number one Lukas Hradecky and striker Joel Pohjanpalo, who was on loan at Union Berlin last term, the exit came at the group stage. The European Championship finals newcomers finished third in Group B but the three points collected were not enough to secure a place in the Round of 16 as one of the top four third-placed teams
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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The next footballing highlight is just around the corner: the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the tournament, will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico and feature 48 teams for the first time. Bayer04.de has all the latest on the Werkself players called up to represent their countries.
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While the majority of the Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their summer break, nine Werkself players will be on duty for their national teams in the coming days. Three of them are competing for a place at the World Cup, while six are involved in two friendlies with the Germany U23 team.
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