Goalkeeper Bernd Leno and Julian Brandt have been called up by Joachim Löw for the next step towards qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Germany team are runaway leaders in Group C with eight wins from eight games and they just need one point from Thursday night's (20.45 CET) away game in Belfast against closest rivals Northern Ireland to secure qualification. The final group match is on Sunday 8 October against Azerbaijan in Kaiserslautern.
Benjamin Henrichs and Jonathan Tah, who have often been in Löw's squad, are set to play for the Germany U21s this week. The team coached by Stefan Kuntz have European Championship qualifiers against Azerbaijan (Friday, 6 October 19.00 CET) and away to Norway (Tuesday, 10 October 19.00 CET) , Following on from the 1-0 victory over Kosovo on the first matchday. Another player for Germany is Kai Havertz with the U19 side playing three European Championship qualifiers in Poland: against Belarus (Wednesday, 4 October, 12.00 CET), Northern Ireland (Saturday, 7 October, 12.00 CET and the hosts Poland (Tuesday, 10 October, 18.00 CET). Havertz is joined in the squad by Bayer 04 U19 players Sam Schreck and Atakan Akkaynak.
Switzerland are also in with a fantastic chance of playing in the FIFA tournament in Russia in 2018. Admir Mehmedi and his team-mates have performed impressively in Group B and, like Germany, have a maximum return of 24 points from their eight games. The Swiss round off their campaign against Hungary (Saturday, seven October) and in a top of the group clash with the European Champions Portugal (Tuesday, 10 October) on three less points. The winners of the nine qualifying groups go through and the eight best runners-up play off for four places at the World Cup.
The situation In Group D is not looking good for Julian Baumgartlinger and Austria as they are five points adrift. The final two matches see Austria take on group leaders Serbia (Friday, 6 October) and bottom of the group Moldova (Monday, 9 October). Finland and Joel Pohjanpalo already have no chance of qualifying in Group I. The final opponents for Finland are Croatia (Friday, 6 October) and Turkey (Monday, 9 October). Greece are still in with a chance of finishing runners-up in Group H. The team coached by Michael Skibbe including Panos Retsos, who recently celebrated his debut, need two wins against Cyprus (Saturday, 7 October) and Gibraltar (Tuesday, 10 October).
Charles Aránguiz can only cross his fingers for Chile from afar following the calf injury he sustained against Schalke on Friday. 'La Rocha' are in danger of missing out in the South American World Cup qualifying group: The team are currently in sixth place and they need to overtake either Argentina or Peru. Only the first four teams qualify directly and the country in fifth place team plays off against the Oceania representatives. Chile are at home first against Ecuador (Friday, 6 October) and then are away to the group winners Brazil (Wednesday, 11 October).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new coffee partner. The club has agreed a long-term partnership with the Bocholt-based roastery Imping, running to 30 June 2031. The exclusive partnership with the family-run business includes the installation of fully automatic coffee machines at the BayArena, as well as the right to supply and serve coffee products in the business areas during Werkself home games.
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Plenty going on both on and off the pitch: The Bayer 04 fan support team has organised a number of highlights for fans visiting the Werkself 2026/27 summer training camp in Blankenhain, in the Weimarer Land region. Registration for the events is now open. All the details at a glance.
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The Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team and s2-Software are continuing their long-term partnership: The Werkself and the provider of pre-owned Microsoft licences have extended their contract by two years to 2028. This means s2-Software will remain the Bayer 04 sleeve sponsor for all matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga.
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BIOGENA is the new performance partner for the Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women’s team. Under a partnership initially set to run for three years, the club and the leading Austrian micronutrient company are pooling their expertise in the areas of health, fitness and top-level performance.
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100 children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy had the chance to gain exclusive insights: As part of the summer camp, the young footballers headed inside the BayArena at midday on Tuesday, 21 July, where they were due to meet Werkself keepers Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch in the press conference room. The two players took plenty of time to answer every question from the inquisitive audience – whether it was about their own careers or their first impressions of the new head coach. Finally, there was even time left to sign autographs for the young fans.
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