After the matches against Nigeria (1-0) and Mexico (0-0), Piero Hincapie and Ecuador remained unbeaten in the third and final friendly against Cape Verde in Fort Lauderdale with a 1-0 win on Saturday 11 June. The goalscorer for La Tri was Jordy Caicedo (38'). The Werkself number 33 played the full 90 minutes.
Odilon Kossounou played his second and last match in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for the Ivory Coast on Thursday 9 June. The game against Lesotho ended in a goalless draw. The Black and Red defender was in the starting line-up and came off at half-time. The Ivorians are currently top of the table after the draw and the previous 3-1 win against Zambia. The next match in the AFCON qualifiers is against Comoros in September.
Mitchel Bakker also has a spotless record with the Netherlands U21 side in the European Championship qualifiers. In the match against Wales on Saturday, Bakker & Co won 1-0 with a late goal from Lutsharel Geertruida (86’). Bakker played the full 90 minutes. The ‘JongOranje’ secured convincing wins in the previous matches against Moldova (3-0) and Gibraltar (6-0) and were already qualified for the U21 Euros top of the group (26 points) ahead of the final game.
After two draws against Italy and England, Germany again ended all square in the UEFA Nation's League. The match in Budapest against Hungary on Saturday evening ended with a 1-1 scoreline with Jonas Hofmann scoring on nine minutes. Werkself defender Jonathan Tah was an unused sub. The Flick team are currently third with three points in Group A3 behind Italy (five points) and Hungary (four points).
Moussa Diaby and France drew 1-1 with Austria in the UEFA Nations League. Kylian Mbappé put the Équipe de France level on 63 minutes. Diaby started and completed the game. Austria are in second place and France are in fourth with two points from three games. The leaders in Group 1 are Denmark in spite of their latest 1-0 defeat against Croatia.
Werkself captain Lukas Hradecky was on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline on Saturday in Finland's game against Romania in the UEFA Nations League. The Leverkusen keeper was not in goal and instead watched the game from the bench. The Scandinavian side are second in Group B3 after three matchdays four points behind Bosnia-Herzegovina.
REMAINING INTERNATIONAL FIXTURES:
Jonathan Tah – Germany
14 June, 20.45 CEST: Germany vs Italy (UEFA Nations League)
Lukas Hradecky – Finland
14 June, 20.45 CEST: Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Finland (UEFA Nations League)
Moussa Diaby – France
13 June, 20.45 CEST: France vs Croatia (UEFA Nations League)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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