The World Cup qualifiers see two Werkself players on opposite sides: On Tuesday, 16 November (kick-off: 20.45 CET), Lukas Hradecky with Finland at home in Helsinki face Moussa Diaby and France. Les Bleus are currently unbeaten at the top of Group D after six matches with the Eagle Owls currently in third place.
Werkself youngster Florian Wirtz is in the Germany squad for the fourth time this year. The 18-year-old has been called up by Germany coach Hansi Flick for the international is going to Liechtenstein (11 November) plus Armenia (14 November). Wirtz has played four full internationals to date.
Edmond Tapsoba has already returned to action for his club following his torn ankle ligaments and the 22-year-old is now set to make his comeback on the international stage. With the as yet unbeaten Burkina Faso, the central defender has two World Cup qualifiers over the next two weeks. That includes a match against the Group A leaders Algeria.
For the Argentinian Werkself duo of Exequiel Palacios and Lucas Alario there is a South American clasico on the cards: The Albiceleste play Brazil on Tuesday, 16 November. Both teams are unbeaten after eleven games in the World Cup qualifiers.
The forthcoming meeting of the two rivals could be more eagerly awaited than ever: Following the recent triumph for Lionel Messi and Co. in the final of the Copa América (1-0), the World Cup qualifier in the São Paulo at the start of September was abandoned due to a breach of coronavirus travel regulations.
Florian Wirtz (World Cup qualifiers)
11.11, 20.45 CET, Germany vs Liechtenstein, Wolfsburg
14.11, 18.00 CET, Armenia vs Germany, Yerevan
Lukas Hradecky (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 15.00 CET, Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Finland, Zenica
16.11, 20.45 CET, Finland vs France, Helsinki
Moussa Diaby (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 20.45 CET, France vs Kazakhstan, Paris
16.11, 20.45 CET, Finland vs France, Helsinki
Patrik Schick (Friendly and World Cup qualifier)
11.11, 18.30 CET, Czech Republic vs Kuwait, Olomouc
16.11, 20.45 CET, Czech Republic vs Estonia, Prague
Andrey Lunev (World Cup qualifiers)
11.11, 18.00 CET, Russia vs Cyprus, St. Petersburg
14.11, 15.00 CET, Croatia vs Russia, Split
Mitchel Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong (U21 Euro qualifiers)
12.11, 18.45 CET, Netherlands U21 vs Bulgaria U21, Almere
15.11, 14.00 CET, Gibraltar U21 vs Netherlands U21, Gibraltar
Amine Adli (U21 Euro qualifiers)
11.11, 20.45 CET, France U21 vs Armenia U21, Grenoble
16.11, 18.30 CET, Macedonia U21 vs France U21, Skopje
Exequiel Palacios and Lucas Alario (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 00.00 CET, Uruguay vs Argentina, Montevideo
17.11, 00.30 CET, Argentina vs Brazil, San Juan
Charles Aránguiz (World Cup qualifiers)
12.11, 00.00 CET, Paraguay vs Chile, Asunción
17.11, 01.15 CET, Chile vs Ecuador, Santiago de Chile
Piero Hincapie (World Cup qualifiers)
11.11., 22.00 CET, Ecuador vs Venezuela, Quito
17.11., 01.15 CET, Chile vs Ecuador, Santiago de Chile
Edmond Tapsoba (World Cup qualifiers)
12.11, 14.00 CET, Burkina Faso vs Niger, Marrakesh
16.11, 17.00 CET, Algeria vs Burkina Faso, Blida
Odilon Kossounou (World Cup qualifiers)
13.11, 20.00 CET, Ivory Coast vs Mozambique, Cotonou
16.11, 20.00 CET, Cameroon vs Ivory Coast, Yaoundé
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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With three games to play before the end of the season, the Bayer 04 Women can break one record and equal another at SGS Essen. After three wins on the bounce, coach Roberto Pätzold's team are aiming to maintain the chance of third place in Sunday’s away game (14:00 CEST, Stadion an der Hafenstraße).
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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