Germany missed out on taking a decisive step in qualifying for the 2020 European Championships. The duel with the neighbours from the Netherlands on Friday 6 September ended in a 4-2 defeat for the German team. The goals for Joachim Löw’s side were scored by Serge Gnabry (9') and Toni Kroos (73' pen.); Frenkie de Jong, Jonathan Tah (o.g. 65'), Donyell Malen (79') and Georgino Wijnaldum (91') netted for the Oranje.
Playing in his home city, Tah was in the starting eleven in front of a capacity 51,299 crowd at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. With Bayer 04 head coach Peter Bosz looking on, the Werkself number four played the full 90 minutes in a back three alongside Niklas Süle and Matthias Ginter. Kai Havertz started on the bench and came on in the 61st minute.
In spite of the defeat, Germany (nine points) have the chance to lead Group C on Monday 9 September. In a 20.45 CET kick-off in Belfast, Germany face Northern Ireland who have the maximum return of twelve points from four games to date.
Austria have maintained their challenge in Group G. The team led by captain Julian Baumgartlinger, who played for 75 minutes, beat bottom of the group Latvia 6-0. Aleksandar Dragovic was on the pitch for 82 minutes in Salzburg.
There were no winners in the duel between Lucas Alario and Charles Aránguiz; the friendly between Argentina and Chile in Los Angeles ended in a goalless draw. Alario came off the bench on the hour mark and Aránguiz was in the starting line-up for La Roja and he was brought off with two minutes to play
Lukas Hradecky remains on the road to success with his national side. Finland beat Greece 1-0 in the Euro qualifiers and are in second place in Group J behind leaders Italy. Hradecky played the full 90 minutes.
Paulinho was a winner with the Brazil U23 side in a friendly against Colombia and he too played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 victory.
Moussa Diaby featured in the convincing 4-0 win for the France U21s in a friendly against Albania in Amiens. The Werkself midfielder went the full distance.
Panos Retsos tasted defeat with the Greece U21s. Playing against the Germany U21s coached by Stefan Kuntz, Greece, who played with ten men after 37 minutes due to a sending off, lost 2-0 in Zwickau. Retsos had the chance to score a consolation goal with four minutes to play but his header was saved by goalkeeper Lennart Grill.
Remaining fixtures for Bayer 04 players:
Kai Havertz, Jonathan Tah (Germany)
Monday 9 September (20.45 CET, Belfast): Northern Ireland v Germany (Euro qualifiers, Group C)
Charles Aránguiz (Chile)
Wednesday 11 September (03.30 CET, San Pedro Sula): Honduras v Chile (friendly)
Lucas Alario (Argentina)
Tuesday 10 September (04.00 CET, San Antonio): Argentina v Mexico (friendly)
Leon Bailey (Jamaica)
Saturday 7 September (02.00 CET, Montego Bay): Jamaica v Antigua & Barbuda (CONCACAF Nations League)
Tuesday 10 September (02.00 CET, Georgetown): Guyana v Jamaica (CONCACAF Nations League)
Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria)
Monday 9 September (20.45 CET, Warsaw): Poland v Austria (Euro qualifiers, Group G)
Lukas Hradecky (Finland)
Sunday 8 September (20.45 CET, Tampere): Finland v Italy (Euro qualifiers Group J)
Paulinho (Brazil U23)
Tuesday 10 September (01.00 CET, Sao Paolo): Brazil U23 v Chile U23 (friendly)
Moussa Diaby (France U21)
Monday 9 September (21.00 CET, Troyes): France U21 v Czech Republic U21 (friendly)
Panos Retsos (Greece U21)
Tuesday 10 September (16.30 CET, Athens): Greece U21 v Lithuania U21 (friendly)
Adrian Stanilewicz (Poland U20)
Monday 9 September (15.00 CET, Rzeszow): Poland U20 v Portugal U20 (friendly)
Mark Lamti (Tunisia U23)
Friday 6 September (20.45 CET, Yaundé): Cameroon U23 v Tunisia U23 (U23 Africa Cup qualifier)
Tuesday 10 September (20.45 CET, Tunis): Tunisia U23 v Cameroon U23 (U23 Africa Cup qualifier)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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