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.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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