
For Charles Aránguiz and the Chile team there was a 2-1 defeat in the friendly against Honduras last night. The Werkself number 20 played the full 90 minutes in holding midfield in the away fixture in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula. After a good first 30 minutes and a deserved lead at half-time, La Roja were unable to reproduce the same performance in the second half – and they conceded two goals late on.
There was a more successful but also more relaxing time for Lucas Alario. The 26-year-old, who returned to the Argentina side after a two-year break in the goalless draw against Chile, did not play in the 4-0 victory inflicted by his fellow countryman on Mexico in a friendly. Instead he spent the 90 minutes on the bench at the Alamdome in the city of San Antonio in Texas.
Panagiotis Retsos was also able to celebrate victory for his country. Playing for the Greece U21 team, he was in the side that registered a 1-0 home win against Lithuania to further secure top spot in Group Four. As in Thursday's friendly against the Germany U21s, the 20-year-old led the Greece youngsters out as captain.
It was an evening of mixed feelings for U19 player Marc Lamti: He was on the winning side for the Tunisia U23s in a 2-1 victory against Cameroon and he did provide an assist. However, due to the away goals rule (after a 1-0 defeat in the first leg), his team just missed out on qualifying for the Africa U23 Cup of Nations as well as a place in next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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Three days after the spectacular comeback in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg (5–2), the Werkself face their next challenge in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart, currently 15th in the table, at the BayArena. Ahead of the match, Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about important factors in preparing for this next game given a tight fixture list.
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Despite VfB Stuttgart performing well in the Champions League, they are facing a difficult spell early on in the Bundesliga. Three days after their last-minute victory in the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, the Swabians can now take to the pitch at the BayArena with greater confidence on Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
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