Austria made a successful start to their Nations League campaign. The team, coached by former Werkself captain Franco Foda since November 2017, started the game in the Norwegian capital without Baumgartlinger and Dragovic. The two Bayer 04 players started on the bench. Ahead of the game, Foda explained that some of his players had not had enough training sessions due to the European finals tournaments and that he would therefore be careful in introducing them to competitive action.
Dragovic was able to take off his training kit near the end of the first half. The Frankfurt player Martin Hinteregger picked up an injury and the Leverkusen player came off the bench on 41 minutes. At that point it was 1-0 for the visitors – Augsburg's Michael Gregoritsch scored. After half-time, Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer (54') and Dortmund's Erling Haaland (66') scored the other two goals. The usual captain Baumgartlinger came on as a substitute on 88 minutes.
Foda did confirm that the Leverkusen player would remain as the skipper. "If my captain is 100 per cent fit then he'll play," said the coach who did not reveal whether Baumgartlinger would start on Monday night. Austria entertain Romania in Klagenfurt.
Diaby did play from the start. His France U21 team faced Georgia in a Euro qualifier and they ran out 2-0 winners. Diaby hit the woodwork on eight minutes and was substituted on 72 minutes. For the Leverkusen player and his teammates, their next game is a Euro qualifier in Azerbaijan on Monday, 7 September with the kick-off at 19.00 CET.
Jonathan Tah (Germany):
Sunday, 6 September (20.45 CET/live on ZDF): Switzerland v Germany (UEFA Nations League)
Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger (Austria):
Monday, 7 September (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): Austria v Romania (UEFA Nations League)
Joel Pohjanpalo and Lukas Hradecky (Finland):
Sunday, 6 September (18.00 CET/live on DAZN): Ireland v Finland (UEFA Nations League)
Tin Jedvaj (Croatia):
Saturday, 5 September (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): Portugal v Croatia (UEFA Nations League)
Tuesday, 8 September (20.45 CET/live on DAZN): France v Croatia (UEFA Nations League)
Lennart Grill (Germany U21):
Tuesday, 8 September (16.00 CET/live on ProSieben MAXX): Belgium U21 v Germany U21 (U21 Euro qualifier)
Moussa Diaby (France U21):
Monday, 7 September (19.00 CET): Azerbaijan U21 v France U21 (U21 Euro qualifier)
With sixth place at the end of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign, Bayer 04 ended a season in the top third of the table for the ninth time in a row. While the Werkself were narrowly eliminated in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by eventual finalists Arsenal, the Black and Reds reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third season in succession. As in previous years, you once again have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app up to and including 11 June.
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With 46 points in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga, the Bayer 04 Women’s team once again broke the previous season's club record and ended up in fifth place - 15 wins is also a record. As in previous years, you now have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is open exclusively to Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app by 11 June.
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The guests at the Scala Club in Leverkusen were amazed when host Reiner Calmund suddenly brought the Managing Director of Sport at Bayer 04, Simon Rolfes, and record Werkself appearance maker Rüdiger Vollborn onto the stage. As part of the show "An Evening with Football & Friends", organised by long-serving Bayer 04 managing director and general manager Calmund, the two surprise guests drew plenty of applause - and provided great entertainment in exciting conversations about the past and future.
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Rogier Meijer is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and returning to his native Netherlands: The 44-year-old will take over at Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on 1 July. Meijer has been part of the Werkself coaching set-up since the start of the 2025/26 season - first as assistant coach to Erik ten Hag, then on Kasper Hjulmand's staff.
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