On the second matchday in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Burkina Faso secured a 3-1 win against Eswatini despite going a goal down. Bayer 04 defender Edmond Tapsoba played the full 90 minutes. Burkina Faso head Group B with six points from two games ahead of Cape Verde (4 points) plus Eswatini and Togo each on one point. The next qualifier for the West African side is against Togo on 19 September.
Following on from the 3-0 win against European Champions Italy in the Finalissima, the reigning Copa America winners Argentina beat Estonia 5-0 in a friendly on Sunday 5 June. The match played in Pamplona saw superstar Lionel Messi once again turn out to be the matchwinner with the left-footer scoring all of the five goals. Werkself midfielder Exequiel Palacios came on as a substitute on 62 minutes in the last match in the current set of internationals.
The Netherlands U21s clocked up a convincing 6-0 victory against Gibraltar in Group E of the U21 European Championship qualifiers. Leverkusen's Mitchel Bakker came off the bench on 62 minutes. The oldest Oranje youth team (23 points) held on to top spot ahead of Switzerland (22 points). Another win in the final match against Wales on Saturday 11 June offers Bakker and Co. the chance to qualify directly for the U21 European championship finals under their own steam.
As under the Bayer Cross, goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky again proved to be a safe pair of hands in the Finnish national team. Finland picked up their first win in the current Nations League campaign with a 2-0 victory against Montenegro. Bayer 04 loanee Joel Pohjanpalo, who played for Çaykur Rizespor in the Turkish top-flight last season, scored both goals to help Finland take top spot in Group 3 in League B with four points. They are ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina (4), Montenegro (4) and the up to now pointless Romania.
France earned their first point in the current Nations League campaign on Monday 6 June. In a rerun of the 2018 World Cup final, the team under Didier Deschamps drew 1-1 against the previously pointless Croatia. Werkself player Moussa Diaby was in the starting eleven and he played on the right wing for 79 minutes. France are currently third in Group 1 in League A behind Denmark (6 points) and Austria (3 points).
Ecuador had their second friendly fixture in the current internationals on the previous night. The South American side with Bayer 04 defender Piero Hincapie drew 0-0 with Mexico in Chicago. The 20-year-old played the full game. La Tri play their final friendly against Cape Verde in the night from Saturday 11 June to Sunday 12 June.
Germany registered another 1-1 draw on the second matchday in the Nations League: A draw in Italy was followed by the points shared with England. Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah was on the bench. The team under coach Hansi Flick are currently third in Group 3 of League A behind Italy (4 points) and Hungary (3 points). England complete the group with one point.
Remaining international fixtures:
Jonathan Tah – Germany
11 June, 20.45 CEST: Hungary vs Germany (UEFA Nations League)
14 June, 20.45 CEST: Germany vs Italy (UEFA Nations League)
Lukas Hradecky – Finland
11 June, 20.45 CEST: Romania vs Finland (UEFA Nations League)
14 June, 20.45 CEST: Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Finland (UEFA Nations League)
Moussa Diaby – France
10 June, 20.45 CEST: Austria vs France (UEFA Nations League)
13 June, 20.45 CEST: France vs Croatia (UEFA Nations League)
Piero Hincapie – Ecuador
12 June, 23.30 CEST: Ecuador vs Cape Verde (Friendly)
Odilon Kossounou – Ivory Coast
9 June, 21.00 CEST: Lesotho vs Ivory Coast (AFCON qualifier)
Mitchel Bakker – Netherlands U21
11 June, 18.00 CEST: Wales U21 vs Netherlands U21 (Euro qualifier)
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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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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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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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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