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
Construction work continues on the ‘Haus der Talente’ on Kurtekottenweg in Leverkusen, where 36 young elite athletes will find a new home from next summer. The building team from Temmink Bau, led by Thomas Wellers, are hard at work. Over the past few days, excavators, wheeled loaders and rollers have removed 2,500 cubic metres of soil to excavate the basement.
Show more
Special events for a special match: Bayer 04 are offering fans a varied programme of events at tonight’s home game in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga against German champions Bayern Munich (kick-off: 18:00 CEST). Alongside a number of interactive activities, events to mark the DFB Sustainability matchday are also planned around the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Read on in the matchday news ahead of the clash with FC Bayern.
Show more
Following two close encounters against VfL Wolfsburg and away to TSG Hoffenheim, the Bayer 04 Women face another top side on Monday night. The Werkself host German double winners Bayern Munich at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium at 18:00 CEST to round off matchday 4 in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. Head coach Roberto Pätzold is counting on another spirited performance from his team.
Show more
30 shots on goal, 14 corners, 63 per cent possession: Bayer 04 clearly had the upper hand in their clash with league leaders FC Augsburg, but squandered the chance of a second win in three games due to a few minutes after the restart, “when we stopped playing football”, as managing director sport Simon Rolfes said after the game. The Werkself review of the 2–2 draw at FC Augsburg.
Show more
