The day of the Northern Ireland match is the anniversary of the debut appearance in the Germany senior team for Kai Havertz (three caps). A year ago, on 9 September 2018, the then 19-year-old was brought on in the 2-1 win against Peru by Germany coach Joachim Löw with two minutes to play. U21 European Championships runner-up Jonathan Tah (six caps) was in the squad then but did not play.
In addition to the Germany duo, 12 other Werkself players are on international duty in the coming week: Julian Baumgartlinger (68 caps) and Aleksandar Dragovic (74 caps) have been selected by Austria head coach and former Bayer 04 player Franco Foda for the two Euro qualifiers against Latvia (6 September) and Poland (9 September). Lukas Hradecky (53 caps) also faces two Euro qualifiers with Finland – the 'Eagle owls' play Greece (5 September) and Italy (8 September).
Lucas Alario (three caps) has been called up by Argentina for the first time in two years. And that is for the two friendlies against Chile (6 September) and Mexico (11 September). That could mean the Werkself number 13 coming up against team-mate Charles Aránguiz (74 caps) who is expected to be in the Chile line-up. In addition to the game against Alario's Argentina (6 September), Chile also play Honduras (11 September).
For Leon Bailey (four caps) and Jamaica there are two matches in the CONCACAF Nations League: The 'Reggae Boyz' play Antigua & Barbuda on 7 September and Guyana on 10 September.
Paulinho (Brazil U23), Moussa Diaby (France U21), Panagiotis Retsos (Greece U21), Adrian Stanilewicz (Poland U20) and the two U19 players Mark Lamti (Tunisia U23) and Marcel Lotka (Poland U19) are on the road with their junior national sides next week.
Happy birthday, Patrik Schick! On his special day, it's not just the Czech striker who can look forward to lots of presents and hopefully many more goals – Bayer 04 fans can also get their hands on a free number 14 print when they buy a Werkself jersey today, January 24! In addition, a match-worn jersey belonging to the now 30-year-old will be raffled off among all purchasers next week.
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Werder Bremen play Bayer 04 for the 90th time in the Bundesliga this Saturday, 24 January (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The overall record so far still favours the Green and Whites, who have 28 wins against the Black and Reds (with 25 defeats and 36 draws). The visit to the BayArena marks the start of a crucial busy week for Werder Bremen with clashes against TSG Hoffenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach to follow. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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A great start to the new eSports year as the Leverkusen professional gamers pick up nine points in the first three of six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. Between big wins, wonder goals and composed performances, there was plenty on offer against VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96 and FC Augsburg.
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In keeping with the current freezing temperatures, Bayer 04 has heavily discounted numerous winter items – from cozy hats and sporty matchday clothing to stylish fleece and winter jackets.
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