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.
The fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 starts for the Leverkusen eSports team today, Thursday 22 January (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel and on the Bayer 04 app from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Reds will once again compete with six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round in Berlin on 2 February at the fourth showdown. The lowdown on our next three opponents in the online preliminary round.
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The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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A great honour for Bayer 04 Women's German international: as part of the 2025 Sports Awards, Carlotta Wamser entered her name into the City of Leverkusen's Golden Book. On Tuesday, she looked back on a special year in a talk in the Morsbroich Castle hall of mirrors.
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It was a disappointing night in Athens: The Werkself lost 2-0 away to Olympiacos on Matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. In a match that was intense and fiery from the outset, the high-pressing home side made the better start and took the lead through Costinha on two minutes. Although the Werkself had a number of chances to equalise, the clinical Greek side increased the lead to 2-0 shortly before half-time (45+1’). In the second half, Leverkusen once again gave their all and showed total commitment but, despite their best efforts, the Black and Reds were unable to break down the Olympiacos defence on the night.
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