The final UEFA Nations League matches of the year have been played: The Czech Republic with Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek faced Switzerland. While neither of the teams could climb above Spain and Portugal to the top of Group 2 in League A this game was about avoiding relegation to League B. Schick and Co. needed a win against Switzerland to overtake them – but they had to settle for a 2-1 defeat in the end. The Swiss went ahead with a double strike (29’, 30’) and the reply from Schick just before half-time was not enough in the race to stay in League A. The centre-forward played the full game and Hlozek remained on the bench.
Finland with goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky also ended their Nations League games on foreign soil: The Werkself captain, who led out the Eagle Owls as usual, was more successful with his fellow countryman in Montenegro than his Czech teammates. On matchday six in Group 3 in League B, Hradecky and Co. won 2-0 with a brace after the restart to replace Montenegro in second place.
Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso and Odilon Kossounou with the Ivory Coast ended the international break with friendly fixtures. Tapsoba and Co. beat Comoros 2-1 with the Bayer 04 defender playing the full 90 minutes in his international appearance number 31. Kossounou did not play in the 3-1 win for the Ivory Coast against Guinea.
Sardar Azmoun and his fellow Iranian countrymen played Senegal in a friendly in Austria. Senegal took the lead on 55 minutes. The Bayer 04 forward came off the bench four minutes later and Azmoun levelled the scores at 1-1 five minutes after that.
The friendly between Japan and Ecuador ended goalless. Werkself defender Piero Hincapie played the whole game at the Merkur Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf.
The Netherlands U21 team with Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker in the starting line-up only managed a 0-0 draw against Romania. Both Leverkusen players were on for the first half.
Zidan Sertdemir and the Denmark U19s lost 4-2 to England in the Euro qualifiers. The Werkself player went off at half-time with the score at 0-0. Denmark are second in Group 9 behind England.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Due to the last-minute postponement of the Bundesliga match between Hamburg and the Werkself on Tuesday, 13 January, Bayer 04 will reimburse the ticket price to all 3,500 fans who had already travelled to Hamburg as a sign of appreciation. The tickets remain valid for the rescheduled match (date not yet set).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Bundesliga fixture between Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been postponed at short notice.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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