In the last Euros, Patrik Schick played a significant role in the Czech Republic qualifying for the quarter-finals – the 25-year-old netted an impressive five goals. And in the current league campaign he has demonstrated his quality as a striker in Black and Red: His tally so far is six goals in seven Bundesliga matches. So he was riding high going into the current international break.
Following the 2-2 draw against Wales, the Czech Republic met bottom of Group E Belarus on Monday night. The favourites took the lead on 22 minutes – Schick found the back of the net once again. And the Werkself striker was also directly involved in making it 2-0 with an assist for Adam Hlozek on 65 minutes. The striker ended his shift after 92 minutes with the victory putting Schick and Co. second in Group E. That will be enough to secure a slot in the play-offs for the Czech Republic.
Germany ended the current international break with an away match in North Macedonia. The capital Skopje was the venue for the game against the team second in Group J. The North Macedonians are the only team to take points off Germany in the current World Cup qualifiers (with a 2-1 win in March).
And the hosts competed well with the favourites in the opening stages of the match on Monday night. The deadlock was broken by Kai Havertz, who came through the youth ranks at Bayer 04, with the opener on 50 minutes. Florian Wirtz stepped onto the pitch at the national stadium ten minutes later – and he immediately made his mark.
Timo Werner doubled the lead on 70 minutes and the 18-year-old set up the central striker for his second goal three minutes later. The Germany team under coach Hansi Flick secured a comfortable 4-0 victory.
The international break also ended well for Russia and the Ivory Coast. The Russians remain top of the World Cup qualifying Group H after a 2-1 win in Slovenia. The Ivorians also won 2-1 in their World Cup qualifier at home to Malawi – and are also top of their Group D in Africa. Both Bayer 04 goalkeeper Andrey Lunev with Russia as well as central defender Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast) did not play in these matches.
Lukas Hradecky (World Cup qualifier)
12.10, 16.00 CEST, Kazakhstan vs Finland, Nur-Sultan
Exequiel Palacios und 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
Mitchel Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong (U21 Euros qualifier)
12.10, 20.00 CEST, Netherlands vs Wales, Nijmegen
Amine Adli (U21 Euros qualifier)
12.10, 18.30 CEST, Serbia vs France, Belgrade
Zidan Sertdemir (U17 Euros qualifier)
12.10, 11.00 CEST, Denmark vs Turkey, Paola
A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Spanish left-back Miguel Gutiérrez from Napoli. The 25-year-old has signed a contract with the club to 30 June 2031. Gutiérrez came through the youth ranks at Real Madrid; he moved to Italy a year ago from Girona, and he played a key role for Napoli with 36 appearances. The big Italian club finished last season as runners-up in Serie A.
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New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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