Germany played the USA in East Hartford in the first of two friendlies during the current international break. Julian Nagelsmann fielded the two Bayer 04 players Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz in his first line-up as Germany coach. While Tah played the full 90 minutes in the 3-1 victory, Wirtz – one of 25 players on the list for the Golden Boy Award 2023 – played for over an hour. He was replaced by former Werkself player Kai Havertz. The other Leverkusen players Jonas Hofmann and Robert Andrich, called up for the first time, did not feature in the game against the USA.
The Black and Reds were also represented in Euro 2024 qualifiers. Jeremie Frimpong made his debut for the Netherlands in a 2-1 defeat against France. The 22-year-old came off the bench on 62 minutes with the score at 2-0. The Oranje are third in their group having played one game less and are three points behind second-placed Greece. A win against the Greeks on Monday night would secure crucial points for Frimpong and Co. in the race to qualify for the finals in Germany in 2024. Lukas Hradecky and his fellow Finns were also left empty-handed. They suffered a 3-0 defeat against group leaders Slovenia with the Werkself captain going the full distance in the game.
Josip Stanisic played the full game in a 1-0 home defeat for Croatia against group leaders Turkey. But the Croats have a good chance of qualifying for the finals as they are currently second in Group D. This international break ends with a battle for points against Wales. Czechia, with ten men from the 39th minute, lost 3-0 against Group D leaders Albania. Adam Hlozek came off the bench on 64 minutes while his Leverkusen teammate goalkeeper Matej Kovar not involved in the game.
Piero Hincapie made a successful start to the international break. The Werkself player played the whole game in the 2-1 win for Ecuador in Bolivia. Ecuador have three points after three games in the South American World Cup qualifiers. Argentina are currently top of the table following a third win without conceding in the World Cup qualifiers. They beat Paraguay 1-0 at home with Exequiel Palacios not in the matchday squad due to a fever.
Three African Leverkusen players were invoved in friendlies. Odilon Kossounou with the Ivory Coast and Amine Adli with Morocco faced each other in a 1-1 draw. Kossounou did not play and Adli was on the pitch was 77 minutes. Their teammate Victor Boniface was in the Nigeria starting line-up in a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia and he scored at 1-1 on 72 minutes. The game was over for the Bayer 04 striker on 78 minutes.
The groups for the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations were drawn this week. Hosts Ivory Coast are in Group A along with Nigeria so Kossounou and Boniface could face each other if selected for the tournament. The two other opponents are Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. Adli with Morocco meets the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Tanzania in Group F.
Madi Monamay with the Belgium U18 side played England at the start of the international break. The Werkself youngster led out his teammates as captain – and secured a win on penalties. The game against South Korea ended with the same outcome and Monamay was again in the starting line-up.
Robert Andrich, Jonas Hofmann, Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz (Germany)
18.10.: Mexico vs Germany (Philadelphia/friendly)
Exequiel Palacios (Argentina)
18.10.: Peru vs Argentina (Lima/World Cup qualifier)
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)
15.10.: Switzerland vs Belarus (St. Gallen/Euro qualifier)
Jeremie Frimpong (Netherlands)
16.10.: Greece vs Netherlands (Athens/Euro qualifier)
Lukas Hradecky (Finland)
17.10.: Finland vs Kazakhstan (Helsinki/Euro qualifier)
Josip Stanisic (Croatia)
15.10.: Wales vs Croatia (Cardiff/Euro qualifier)
Adam Hlozek and Matej Kovar (Czechia)
15.10.: Czechia vs Faroe Islands (Pilsen/Euro qualifier)
Amine Adli (Morocco)
17.10.: Morocco vs Liberia (Agadir/AFCON qualifier)
Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast)
17.10.: Ivory Coast vs South Africa (Abidjan/friendly)
Piero Hincapie (Ecuador)
18.10.: Ecuador vs Colombia (Quito/World Cup qualifier)
Victor Boniface (Nigeria)
16.10.: Mozambique vs Nigeria (Albufeira/friendly)
Werkself TV shows highlights of the 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of the play-offs of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 league...
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The Werkself beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg to claim a crucial victory in the Greek capital. After a focused first-half display with a number of presentable chances, Patrik Schick crowned a textbook counter to hand the Werkself the lead on the hour (60’). The Czech rounded off his brace when he headed in from a corner just 144 seconds later. Bayer 04 maintained their lead with aplomb to achieve a good position for the return leg in Leverkusen.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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