
In front of 12,000-strong crowd at the A. Le Coq Arena in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, a brace from Ilkay Gündogan after half-time (51’, 57’) put Germany on the way to victory and substitute Timo Werner rounded off proceedings with the third goal on 71 minutes.
Germany, with Kai Havertz in the starting line-up on the right side of midfield in his seventh international, were a man down for 75 minutes of the game after the former Leverkusen player Emre Can was shown a red card for a professional foul (14’). The German team struggled as a result for much of the game. Nadiem Amiri came off the bench on 86 minutes to win his second cap. Germany are level on points with Holland in second place in Group C with two games to play.
Austria also remain on course to qualify for the European Championships finals. The team coached by Franco Foda beat Slovenia 1-0 in Group G. With Slovenia struggling to make an impression in the game, Stefan Posch scored the winner with a header on 21 minutes. Austria are second to Poland, who are already through to the finals, with a five-point lead over North Macedonia. Skipper Julian Baumgartlinger and Aleksandar Dragovic went the full distance in the win for Austria.
Argentina romped home with a 6-1 victory over Ecuador in a friendly on Sunday. Four days after his goal in the 2-2 draw with Germany, Lucas Alario opened the floodgates on 20 minutes – with another header. The other goals for Argentina in a game played in the Spanish city of Elche were an own goal by Jhon Espinoza (27’) plus strikes from Leandro Parades (32’ pen.), German Pezzella (66’), Nicolas Dominguez (82’) and Lucas Ocampos (86’). Ecuador’s Angel Mena scored a consolation goal on 49 minutes. Alario started but was substituted on 57 minutes.
Joel Pohjanpalo celebrated his return to the Finland team on Saturday. After nearly 18 months ruled out through injury, the Werkself number 17 came on for the second half in the Euro qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina and he scored the only goal for the Finns in a four-one defeat. Finland were unable to build on their previous performances in the qualifiers and conceded as many goals in this game as in all the previous matches in the qualifying group. The goals for the hosts were scored by Izet Hajrovic (29’), Miralem Pjanic (37’, 58’ pen.) and Armin Hodzic (73’). Lucas Hradecky was in goal for the Eagle Owls and he produced numerous saves to prevent an even greater defeat. Finland remain in second place in Group J behind Italy who have already qualified. The next game for Finland is against third-placed Armenia on Tuesday (18.00 CET).


Bayer 04 are back at the BayArena! Under the slogan “One day. Two teams. One club.”, the Leverkusen stadium grounds will be transformed into a world of experiences – with a wide range of exclusive activities both on and off the pitch. Keep track of all the highlights in our blog for the 2026 season launch.
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Spurred on by a flawless hat-trick from Cornelia Kramer, the Bayer 04 women’s team won their penultimate pre-season friendly in commanding fashion. As part of the season launch, the Werkself beat Dutch top-flight side Feyenoord 7–0. In front of 3,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, Kramer (6’, 25’, 45’), Sofie Zdebel (47’), Maja Sternad (59'), Natasha Kowalski (83') and Vanessa Fudalla (86') scored the goals for coach Roberto Pätzold’s side.
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Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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