Joachim Löw must know the Leverkusen dialling code by heart now as the Germany coach has selected the European Championship players Bernd Leno and Jonathan Tah plus Karim Bellarabi, Julian Brandt and Kevin Volland in his squad.
All five can hope to feature in Wednesday’s friendly against Finland in Mönchengladbach (20.45 CET) and in Sunday’s opening qualifier for the 2018 World Cup against Norway on Sunday (20.45 CET). Olympic silver medal Brandt has been promised a part in Löw’s team for the first match. “I liked the way the team played in Rio and that’s why I called up players like Süle, Meyer and Brandt. They will get the chance to play on Wednesday. By agreement with Hansi Flick one or other players will return to their clubs as they have all been working hard in recent weeks,” said Löw ahead of the team meeting up in Düsseldorf as reported on www.dfb.de.
The five German players are not the only players on the road this week with a total of 19 Werkself players called up for international duty. Joel Pohjanpalo is set to be in the Finland line-up against Germany after scoring two minutes into his debut for the Werkself. The Austria squad includes the three new signings Julian Baumgartlinger, Rambo Özcan and Aleksandar Dragovic.
One head-to-head and two debuts
There is one match of special interest from a Leverkusen point of view: As at Euro 2016 Croatia and Turkey face each other. Croatia with Tin Jedvaj won 1-0 in France so Hakan Calhanoglu and Co. will be looking for revenge. Admir Mehmedi has been called up by Switzerland and Kevin Kampl by Slovenia. And Vladlen Yurchenko can look forward to making his full international debut for Ukraine.
And Benny Henrichs is also about to make his debut: He has been called up for the Germany U21 squad under new coach Stefan Kuntz and Joel Abu Hanna is in the Germany U19 squad. And Charles Aránguiz will be in action in South America with Chile in the race for World Cup qualification.
Internationals involving Bayer 04 players:
Wednesday 31.08.
20.00 CET: Turkey v Russia (Calhanoglu)
20.45 CET: Germany v Finland (Leno, Tah, Bellarabi, Brandt, Volland || Pohjanpalo)
Thursday 01.08.
12.30 CET: Australia v Iraq (Kruse)
20.45 CET: Netherlands v Greece (Papadopoulos)
Friday 02.09.
02.00 CET: Paraguay v Chile (Aránguiz)
18.00 CET: Germany U19 v Russia U19 (Abu Hanna)
18.15 CET: Germany U21 v Slovakia U21 (Henrichs)
Sunday 04.09.
18.00 CET: Lithuania v Slovenia (Kampl)
20.45 CET: Norway v Germany (Leno, Tah, Bellarabi, Brandt, Volland)
Monday 05.09.
18.00 CET: Georgia v Austria (Özcan, Baumgartlinger, Dragovic)
18.00 CET: Germany U19 v Netherlands U19 (Abu Hanna)
20.45 CET: Croatia v Turkey (Jedvaj || Calhanoglu)
20.45 CET: Kosovo v Finland (Pohjanpalo)
20.45 CET: Ukraine v Iceland (Yurchenko)
Tuesday 06.09.
13.30 CET: UAE v Australia (Kruse)
18.00 CET: Finland U21 v Germany U21 (Henrichs)
20.45 CET: Switzerland v Portugal (Mehmedi)
20.45 CET: Gibraltar v Greece (Papadopoulos)
Wednesday 07.09.
01.00 CET: Chile v Bolivia (Aránguiz).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned U19 midfielder Jeremiah Mensah to Dutch second-tier side Roda JC Kerkrade for one year. The 18-year-old Germany youth international has a long-term contract at the club to 2031.
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Bayer 04 kick off the final phase of their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with a friendly against Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Head coach Carles Martínez’s team will take to the pitch at the City Ground today, Wednesday 12 August (kick-off: 8.45 pm/7.45 pm local time). Werkself-TV will broadcast the match live and in full exclusively for Bayer 04 members via livestream from 8.35 pm...
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Argentina international Facundo Medina. The defender, who can play both at left-back and in a more central position in the back line, has signed a contract with Bayer 04 to 30 June 2031. The 1.84-metre-tall World Cup runner-up, who will wear the number 2 shirt, joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique de Marseille.
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Villa Fiorito, River Plate, Ligue 1, the World Cup final and now Bayer 04: Facundo Medina’s life story so far has been shaped by special places, clubs, matches and names. One of them is Diego Maradona, who, like Medina, hailed from the south of Buenos Aires. Another is Exequiel Palacios, his former team-mate at River Plate, who was raving about Bayer 04 to him as recently as the World Cup in North America. Medina has now taken the plunge into the Bundesliga and, as an Argentine World Cup runner-up, has joined Bayer 04 from Olympique de Marseille this week. It is set to be the next successful chapter in his career. Leverkusen’s new number 2 brings with him a South American mentality and passion, a wealth of experience from many years in Ligue 1, and a fascinating story to the Rhineland – and to a club where the 1.84-metre-tall left-footed player will be reunited with Palacios and several other familiar faces.
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Shortly after signing his contract with Bayer 04, new signing Facundo Medina spoke to Werkself.tv about his first impressions of the club, his expectations and his conversations with his Argentine compatriot Exequiel Palacios. The defender also reveals what the fans can look forward to. Welcome to Leverkusen, Facu!
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