The dream of defending the title lives on. Even though the Germany U21 side were unable to build on their convincing performances in the previous group matches against Denmark (3-1) and Serbia (6-1) against a battling Austria they do go through to the last four unbeaten.
In front of a 9,000 crowd at the Dacia Arena in Udine (Italy), the two teams were on equal terms from the start of the match: Austria pressed forward early and prevented the Germany junior team playing their normal game – accordingly the opener for Germany came from a long-range effort: A ball from the again very impressive captain Jonathan Tah found Freiburg player Luca Waldschmidt who took a chance and hit the ball from a central position 25 yards out into the top right corner (14').
The 1-0 scoreline did not last long. Austria were awarded a penalty after a foul by the otherwise impressive keeper Alexander Nübel (FC Schalke) and Kevin Danso (FC Augsburg) was able to convert the spot kick (24') – it was the third goal scored from the penalty spot against Germany in the third match at this European Championships. Germany were lucky in added time at the end of the first half when Austria's Sasa Kalajdzic hit the post with a header. The two sides cancelled each other out in the second half with little threat on goal at either end.
The 1-1 draw was enough for Germany to win the group, go through to the semi-finals and thereby qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo
Germany's opponents in the last four will be determined after the end of the group stage on Monday night.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Due to the last-minute postponement of the Bundesliga match between Hamburg and the Werkself on Tuesday, 13 January, Bayer 04 will reimburse the ticket price to all 3,500 fans who had already travelled to Hamburg as a sign of appreciation. The tickets remain valid for the rescheduled match (date not yet set).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Bundesliga fixture between Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been postponed at short notice.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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