
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.

Despite a major personnel shake-up in the summer, RB Leipzig have performed impressively this term. Ahead of matchday 15, coach Ole Werner's team are second in the Bundesliga with a three-point lead over their upcoming opponents Bayer 04. This Saturday, 20 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET), the Werkself are away to RBL who are strong at home. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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This year - for the third time - the parents of the Bayer 04 youth players from the U8 to U15 age groups once again took part in the WDR Christmas Miracle. Under the motto "Goals against hunger in the world - parents in goal!", they organised their own fundraising campaign to once again actively support the important WDR campaign. The sum of €3,420 was handed over at the Glashaus in Essen in the middle of the week during the live programme.
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On Tuesday evening, Bayer 04's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer and its employees welcomed some very special visitors to the company's Christmas market at its headquarters in Wuppertal: Werkself players Robert Andrich, Mark Flekken, Loïc Badé, Jarell Quansah and Malik Tillman spent lots of time with Bayer 04 fans of all ages in the early evening – and also helped to serve drinks such as Glühwein (mulled wine) and delicious food.
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The Leverkusen eSports players picked up just one point on Tuesday 16 December in the remaining three matches of the online preliminary round of Showdown Three in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. As a result, the #B04eSports team once again miss out on going through to the offline knockout phase and now head into the winter break.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has always stood for ambition, development, and progress. In recent years, these values have been reflected not only on the pitch, but beyond it. The Werkself continues to grow — regionally, nationally, and now more than ever internationally — and the recent visit from a delegation of our newest international fan club, Bayer4Arab, is a powerful example of this journey.
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