While one group of players, who played more minutes of the match on Wednesday evening, completed a recovery session inside, the other 13-man group begin with a quick strength segment outside. That was followed by various passing drills in small groups as well as two-v-one game on a small pitch. Interestingly, Forest's U21 team were working up a sweat on the adjacent pitch at the same time.
It was particularly pleasing to see new signing Facundo Medina involved in the hour-long session. The Argentinian initially trained with the group, then worked individually with the fitness coaches on the other side of the field.
Also on the pitch were World Cup returnees Jarell Quansah and Exequiel Palacios. The intensity was really turned up for the pair at the end of the session as the World Cup medal winners completed a number of sprints before heading for a well-earned shower. Quansah was clearly pleased with the work: "It's nice to be back. I'm recovered, even though my break wasn't long. I feel fresh and in good form."
Nathan Tella (muscular problem) and Axel Tape (illness) returned to action, too, after their recent ailments. The group was completed by U19 players Jonah Berghoff, Ben Hawighorst and Kenan Doganay. The concentration and tension levels were clear to see in all the players, with the focus already on the seventh and final friendly of the 2026/27 pre-season this Saturday, 15 August, at Premier League club Newcastle United.
Head coach Carles Martínez will lead his team through one more training session in Nottingham on Friday before they travel north-east to Newcastle.
Kick-off in the final friendly on Saturday is at 16:00 CEST (15:00 local time) at St. James' Park. Bayer 04 is broadcasting a free live stream of the game. Registered users can watch it for free on bayer04.de, in the Bayer 04 app and on Werkself.tv.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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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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Fun, games and promising talent: At the fourth Bayer 04 Junior Girls’ Talent Day at the Kurtekotten training centre, 90 football-mad girls had the chance to put themselves forward for the Werkself youth teams. During a 90-minute training session, children born between 2011 and 2019 had the chance to demonstrate their skills.
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