
Germany drew 2-2 with Mexico last night in their second friendly in the current international break. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann again started Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz. The latter set up Niklas Füllkrug to level at 2-2 on 51 minutes. Jonas Hofmann came on as a substitute on 65 minutes with Robert Andrich remaining on the bench for the second game.
A great honour for Granit Xhaka: In an exciting 3-3 draw for Switzerland against Belarus, the midfielder made his 118th international appearance to draw level with the previous recordholder Heinz Hermann. The 31-year-old national team captain played the full 90 minutes in the Euro qualifier.
Other Werkself players were also involved in Euro qualifiers. Czechia beat the Faroe Islands 1-0. Adam Hlozek started and played the whole game with teammate Matej Kovar remaining on the bench. Czechia are now second in Group E with 11 points. The Netherlands also secured a win. Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal of the game against Greece from the penalty spot in added time and Jeremie Frimpong did not come on.
Josip Stanisic was on the losing side with Croatia. They lost 2-1 to Wales with Stanisic coming on in the second half. Lukas Hradecky and Finland suffered the same fate with the Scandinavian side losing 2-1 against Kazakhstan. That means Finland can no longer qualify for Euro 2024.
Following Ecuador's 2-1 win against Bolivia last week, the South American team drew 0-0 with Colombia in the second World Cup qualifier in the current international break. Piero Hincapie played the full 90 minutes. Ecuador are now sixth on four points with the unbeaten World Cup winners Argentina topping the group after a fourth victory in the qualifiers. The Albiceleste beat Peru 2-0 but Exequiel Palacios did not feature in the match.
Morocco played their final qualifier against Liberia having already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations. They secured a convincing 3-0 win. Amine Adli came off the bench on 65 minutes and scored the third goal just before the end of the game (89'). It was the winger's first strike for Morocco. Morocco are top of their group at the end of the qualifiers.
Two other Werkself players were involved in friendlies. Victor Boniface was a substitute on 75 minutes in the 3-2 win for Nigeria against Mozambique. Ivory Coast drew 1-1 with South Africa but Odilon Kossounou did not play in the game. Both Nigeria and hosts Ivory Coast are qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals next year and they will face each other in Group A.

Welcome back! On Tuesday morning, 11 August, Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios – the last of the Werkself’s World Cup participants – returned to training. The two medallists and their team-mates are set to play their final two pre-season friendlies in England this week before the start of competitive fixtures.
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Bayer 04 have unveiled the new third kit for the 2026/27 season. The design, developed by kit supplier New Balance, combines the city’s colours with symbols that have defined Leverkusen and Bayer 04 for generations.
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Tickets for the first two Bayer 04 women’s team home games are now on general sale. A week after their league opener away at RB Leipzig, Roberto Pätzold’s side will face last season’s runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, in the first home fixture on Sunday 30 August (kick-off: 16:00 CEST). Fifteen days later, on Monday night, 14 September (kick-off: 18:00 CEST), the Leverkusen Women host German champions Bayern Munich at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for a top-of-the-table league clash. You can now also select specific seats via the online shop. The latest information on match ticket sales.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without Montrell Culbreath for the start of the 2026/27 season. The forward injured his foot injury in yesterday’s preseason friendly against Spanish top-flight side Sevilla (2–1), which rules him out of action for the time being. Culbreath’s diagnosis is not yet complete; further examinations are to follow in the coming days.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended midfielder Noah Mbamba’s contract by twelve months and sent the Belgian U21 international on loan to France. At FC Lorient, the 21-year-old – whose contract at Leverkusen now runs to 30 June 2029 – is set to gain playing time in Ligue 1 and, through strong performances and further development, put himself in the running for a future place in the Werkself squad.
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