
Qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations: Edmond Tapsoba and Burkina Faso drew 1-1 with Togo in their second game during the current international break on Tuesday night. That means the Étalons are top of Group B on ten points and have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations 2023.
Following the 4-0 victory for France against the Netherlands, Les Bleus were winners again in their second match in the Euro qualifiers on Monday 27 March: France beat hosts Ireland 1-0 in Dublin. Werkself player Moussa Diaby came on as a substitute on 65 minutes. The Équipe Tricolore ended up top of Group B with six points at the end of the international break.
Goalkeeper Patrick Pentz – who did not play – can also be happy with maximum points for Austria: Last Monday saw the Austrians beat Estonia 2-1 in Linz. That puts them top of Group F.
Lukas Hradecky with Finland picked up their first points: The Eagle Owls secured a 1-0 away win against Northern Ireland in Belfast on Sunday 26 March. The keeper played the full 90 minutes. Finland lost 3-1 to Denmark in the previous game and are currently fifth in Group H.
Adam Hlozek and Czechia were involved in a goalless draw with Moldova on Monday. Hlozek was substituted on 81 minutes. The draw and the 3-0 win against Poland in the first qualifier saw the Czechs remain unbeaten and top of the table in Group E.
Exequiel Palacios and Argentina had another friendly: The reigning World Cup winners played Curacao at home in Santiago del Estero on Wednesday night 29 March with the game ending up in an emphatic 7-0 victory. Werkself midfielder Exequiel Palacios came off the bench on 51 minutes.
Piero Hincapie played his second friendly for Ecuador on Tuesday 28 March: La Tri beat Australia 2-1. Defender Hincapie again played the full 90 minutes as in the 3-1 defeat in the first friendly against Australia..
Florian Wirtz played for Germany in Cologne against Belgium on Tuesday night: The 19-year-old was again in the starting eleven and he played for 32 minutes before being replaced by Emre Can. Germany ended up losing 3-2 against the team coached by Domenico Tedesco. Ahead of kick-off, Bayer 04 player Wirtz was presented with the most important youth award in German football, the gold Fritz Walter Medal by the German Football Association (DFB).
There were two draws for Mitchel Bakker and Amine Adli with their national teams: Bakker was in the Netherlands U21 team in Monday’s friendly against Czechia that ended all square at 1-1. Good news: The Werkself player led the Oranje onto the pitch as captain and played the full 90 minutes. The match between France and Spain on Tuesday ended in a goalless draw. Adli came off the bench on 80 minutes.
Madi Monamay wore the captain's armband on Tuesday in the U17 elite round match between Belgium and Norway and he played the whole game. However, the Belgians ended up losing 5-0. Also on Tuesday, Noah Mbamba and the Belgium U19s played Italy: The match in Bremen ended in a 2-2 draw. Mbamba played for 66 minutes. The Belgium U19 team were unable to qualify for the finals of the U19 European Championships with three draws in succession and Germany have not made it either. The Italians go through top of the group.
The 13 Werkself players already returned to the Rhineland will rejoin the squad over the next few days after they started the build-up for the next Bundesliga match at the start of the week. The team under head coach Xabi Alonso return to league action on Bundesliga matchday 26 again Schalke 04 on Saturday 1 April. The kick-off at the Veltins Arena is at 15.30 CEST.

During the first international break of the 2026/27 season, set to last just under three weeks, nine Bayer 04 first-team players are in action with their respective national teams. Read on for updates on matches featuring Werkself players…
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Whenever the leading figures in European club football come together, Bayer 04 are right in the thick of it: At the 33rd General Assembly of the European Football Clubs (EFC) in Copenhagen, Fernando Carro, CEO, and Simon Rolfes, Managing Director Sport, discussed key sporting and economic issues for the future.
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Having progressed to the DFB Pokal Round of 16, the Bayer 04 Women do not have much time before their next Bundesliga fixture. On Friday night (18:30 CEST), coach Roberto Pätzold’s side kick off matchday six at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium against Werder Bremen – and they have a clear mission.
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career working as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personal Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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