After three 1-1 draws in succession against Italy, England and Hungary, Germany yesterday (14 May) secured the first win in the current UEFA Nations League campaign. Goals from Joshua Kimmich, Ilkay Gündogan, Thomas Müller and a Timo Werner brace paved the way to a 5-2 win against European champions Italy. Bayer 04 defender Jonathan Tah came on as a late sub to replace Niklas Süle in the centre of defence.
The team under coach Hansi Flick are currently second in Group 3 in League A with six points from four games. Hungary lead the table with one point more, Italy (five) and England (two) follow in third and fourth places. The final group matches in the Nations League for Germany are at the end of September with Hungary the visitors in Leipzig on 23 September and that is followed by an away game against England on 26 September.
The last World Cup opponents for Germany were decided yesterday when Costa Rica beat New Zealand 1-0 in the play-offs and they will now compete in Group D alongside Japan and Spain. That means there will be a rerun of the opening game of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, which the hosts were able to win 4-2.
Lukas Hradecky and Finland came within a whisker of picking up a point. The Scandinavians lost 3-2 away to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Finns came back from conceding an early goal with strikes from Teemu Pukki and Benjamin Källman putting them ahead before Bosnia's Edin Dzeko netted a brace to win the game. Bayer 04 captain Hradecky played the full 90 minutes.
Finland are third in Group 3 in League B in the Nations League on four points after four matches. Bosnia-Herzegovina lead the group with eight points. The next opponents Romania (23 September) are currently fourth on three points and Montenegro (26 September) are second with seven points.
France remained without a win in their fourth match in the Nations League on Monday 13 May. The 2018 World Cup winners suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against their final opponents back then Croatia. Real Madrid's Luka Modric scored the winner for Croatia from the penalty spot on five minutes. Werkself forward Moussa Diaby was an unused sub.
The Équipe Tricolore are bottom of Group 1 in League A with two points after two draws and two defeats. Denmark (9), Croatia (7) and Austria (4) are ahead of them. France are next in action against Austria on 22 September and that is followed by a game against Denmark on 25 September in League A of the Nations League.
France now also know their opponents in their opening game in the World Cup in Qatar. Australia beat Peru in the play-offs on Monday with a 5-4 win on penalties to secure one of the last tickets to the forthcoming World Cup. The other teams in Group D are Denmark and Tunisia.
Video game producer Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the nominees for the Men's and Women's Team of the Year (TOTY) for EA Sports FC 26. With Patrik Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo for the men and Vanessa Fudalla for the women, there are three Bayer 04 players included. Fans of the Black-and-Reds can vote for each top XI of 2025 from now until 18:59 CET on Monday 12 January.
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The Werkself host FC St. Pauli at the BayArena on matchday 22 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 14 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The Werkself host Mainz at the BayArena on matchday 24 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 28 February, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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