
Following the 3-0 victory in the opening match in Norway Germany continued to shine on matchday two in Group C with a convincing 3-0 win in the World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic in Hamburg. Thomas Müller, who scored twice against the Scandinavians, was on target again with another brace and Toni Kroos netted the other goal for Joachim Löw’s team. Julian Brandt replaced Julian Draxler on 80 minutes to win his fourth full international cap for Germany. Bernd Leno and Kevin Volland did not feature in Hamburg.
Admir Mehmedi and Switzerland are on course in Group B. The 2-0 win against reigning European champions Portugal in the first match was followed by a 3-2 victory over Hungary to put the Swiss top of the table on maximum points ahead of the Faroe Islands (4) and Portugal (3). The Werkself pro, on from the start, was replaced late on by the Valentin Stocker with the Hertha Berlin midfielder scoring the winner on 88 minutes. Adam Szalai (Hoffenheim) twice levelled for Hungary to cancel out goals from Haris Seferovic (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Rodrigo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg).
The Germany U21 team secured a 4-3 win against Russia in Ingolstadt to qualify for next year’s European Championships. Germany, now coached by Stefan Kuntz in place of Horst Hrubesch, earned a ninth win in their ninth qualifier. Jonathan Tah played the full 90 minutes in central defence and he had a good game. Benjamin Henrichs did not play.
Henrichs back with the Werkself
Ahead of Tuesday’s final group match against Austria in St. Pölten Henrichs returns to Leverkusen as the youngster has seen a lot of action for the Werkself in recent weeks. Stefan Kuntz agreed the move in discussion with Bayer 04 head coach Roger Schmidt.


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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