
As at the end of March, Germany coach Hansi Flick has again called up Werkself player Florian Wirtz for the forthcoming internationals. The 20-year-old will be in the Germany squad starting with the charity match against Ukraine (12 June, 18.00 CEST in Bremen). That is followed by a friendly in Poland (20 June, 20.45 CEST) and a game against Colombia (20 June, 20.45 CEST in Gelsenkirchen).
Three Leverkusen players are involved in qualifiers for the 2024 European Championships in Germany: Captain Lukas Hradecky is in the preliminary squad for Finland, Patrick Pentz is with the preliminary Austria squad and Adam Hlozek has been selected for Czechia.
Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, the leaders in Group B in the qualifiers for the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, face direct rivals Cape Verde. And Piero Hincapie and Exequiel Palacios will also be on the road: Hincapie has two friendlies with Ecuador in the USA and the Argentina World Cup winner Palacios and his fellow countrymen first play Australia in China's capital Beijing and are then away to Indonesia in Jakarta.
Adli in FranCE U21 Squad
Amine Adli is in the France U21 squad for the U 21 European Championships in Romania and Georgia. The opponents in the group stage are Italy, Norway and Switzerland.
International fixtures involving Bayer 04 players:
Florian Wirtz (Germany)
12.06: Germany vs Ukraine (Friendly)
16.06: Poland vs Germany (Friendly)
20.06: Germany vs Colombia (Friendly)
Lukas Hradecky (Finland)
18.06: Finland vs Slovenia (Euro qualifier)
19.06: Finland vs San Marino (Euro qualifier)
Patrick Pentz (Austria)
17.06: Belgium vs Austria (Euro qualifier)
20.06: Austria vs Sweden (Euro qualifier)
Adam Hlozek (Czechia)
17.06: Faroe Islands vs Czechia (Euro qualifier)
20.06: Montenegro vs Czechia (Friendly)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso)
18.06: Cape Verde vs Burkina Faso (AFCON qualifier)
Piero Hincapie (Ecuador)
18.06: Ecuador vs Bolivia (Friendly)
21.06: Ecuador vs Costa Rica (Friendly)
Exequiel Palacios (Argentina)
15.06: Argentina vs Australia (Friendly)
19.06: Indonesia vs Argentina (Friendly)
Amine Adli (France U21)
22.06: France U21 vs Italy U21 (Group stage, U21 Euros)
25.06: Norway U21 vs France U21 (Group stage, U21 Euros)
28.06: France U21 vs Switzerland U21 (Group stage, U21 Euros)

It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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