
The Finland team including Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky travelled over 3,000 kilometres from Helsinki to the next venue in the World Cup qualifiers. After the 2-1 home defeat against Ukraine, the Eagle Owls headed to Nur-Sultan. With Hradecky in goal, Finland secured a 2-0 victory in the Kazakhstan capital. Striker Teemu Pukki netted a brace (45', 48'). Bayer 04 player Joel Pohjanpalo (currently on loan at Caykur Rizespor in Turkey) had to go off on 33 minutes.
Finland are now third in Group D with eight points. As second-placed Ukraine have played one more game and only have one point more, the Eagle Owls have the chance of qualifying for the play-offs in their own hands. Finland's two remaining opponents in the World Cup qualifiers are Bosnia-Herzegovina (13 November) and France (16 November).
Bayer 04 new signing Amine Adli followed on with the next chapter after his textbook debut on Friday: The 21-year-old found the back of the net again in the U21 Euro qualifier against Serbia when he opened the scoring for the France U21 side on 29 minutes. The versatile forward came off on 70 minutes with the young French team securing a 3-0 victory 20 minutes later. Adli and Co. are currently top of Group H.
There was an emphatic victory for another Leverkusen duo with their national team: Mitchel Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong were in the Netherlands U21 side that clocked up a convincing 5-0 home victory over Wales. Both Werkself players started and Frimpong was substituted on 74 minutes. Bakker provided the assists for the first and fourth goals.




Youngster Zidan Sertdemir and the Denmark U17 team ended up losing 4-3 on penalties in the Euro qualifier against Turkey. The 16-year-old Leverkusen player netted the leveller at 2-2 in normal time and scored as the first penalty taker in the shootout.
Exequiel Palacios and Lucas Alario (World Cup qualifier)
15.10, 01.30 CEST, Argentina vs Peru, Buenos Aires
Piero Hincapie (World Cup qualifier)
14.10, 23.00 CEST, Colombia vs Ecuador, Barranquilla

Thomas Eichin has been working for Bayer 04 for six years – as Director of Professional Teams since July 2023 – and has contributed to the successful development of our club in many areas. Today, Friday 9 October, Freiburg-born Eichin is celebrating his 60th birthday. We wish him a very happy birthday.
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The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Together with his family, friends and close associates, Bayer 04 Leverkusen bid farewell to Peter Hermann. The club’s long-serving assistant manager passed away on 19 September following a serious illness. Today, Thursday 8 October, Bayer 04 held an event attended by around 200 invited guests to commemorate Peter Hermann’s legacy. Representatives from the DFB and the other professional clubs where Hermann worked paid their respects to him at the BayArena.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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