After tearing a cruciate last July, Paulinho had to work in rehab over many months – now his indomitable determination to get back on the pitch has also been rewarded with selection for the Brazil Olympic squad. Congratulations, Pauli!
In addition to the 20-year-old Werkself striker, Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin) is another Bundesliga player travelling to Japan for the titleholders. The Olympic football tournament runs from 21 July to 7 August.
The many months of rehab for the Brazilian in the Werkstatt at the BayArena and Paulinho's thoughts at the time can be seen in the Bayer 04 documentary ‘NEVER STOP FIGHTING – Paulinho’s path from torn cruciate to comeback’.
Following the historic first international for Finland at a major tournament (1-0 against Denmark), the Eagle Owls had the opportunity to progress to the Round of 16 on matchday two. That required victory against Russia who lost their first match – however the match ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat. The battle to remain in the tournament after the group phase will be decided on the final matchday in Group B.
The clash with Russia started positively from a finish perspective: The Bayer 04 player Joel Pohjanpalo, on loan at Union Berlin last term, appeared to have put the North European side ahead on five minutes. However, the centre-forward was marginally offside with his headed goal.
Aleksey Miranchuk gave Russia the lead in added time in the first half with an impressive shot that left the Werkself number one Lukas Hradecky stranded in the Finland goal. That was the first goal conceded by the 31-year-old in the European Championship finals. To have a chance of progressing to the Round of 16, Pohjanpalo, Hradecky and Co. need to get a result against group favourites Belgium on Monday night, 21 June (kick-off: 21.00 CEST).
Like their Finnish Bayer 04 teammates, Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger were on the losing side with Austria on matchday two. The Austria team lost 2-0 against the Netherlands. While Drago was replaced on 83 minutes by Freiburg's Philip Lienhart, Baumi was not in the squad under Austria head coach Franco Foda this time.
The Werkself duo and their national teammates do have a chance of going through to the knockout stages. They play Ukraine on Monday, 22 June (kick-off: 18.00 CEST). Austria have to win in Bucharest to push Ukraine out of second spot.
The Czech Republic caused a slight upset at the European Championship with their 2-0 opening win against Scotland. Not only was the result positive but also there was a very decent performance by the young team. Man of the match was undoubtedly Werkself centre-forward Patrik Schick who secured the three points for his team with a brace. His second strike from nearly 50 metres out is the longest range goal scored in the European Championships.
The Czech Republic meet World Cup semi-finalists Croatia on Friday night at 18.00 CEST – will Schick be able to take his team through to the Round of 16 in Glasgow? It would be the surprise in Group D, which also includes England.
Charles Aránguiz (Chile) and Exequiel Palacios (Argentina) are also in action with their national teams. Matchday two in the Copa America is at the start of the weekend. The Werkself skipper Aránguiz plays first. Chile take on Bolivia at 23.00 CEST on Friday night. That is followed three hours later with Palacios and Argentina up against Uruguay, also in Group A. Chile and Argentina drew 1-1 in the opening match. Good luck, lads!
There was a successful end to the women's internationals with Werkself players Carlotta Wamser and Cornelia Kramer qualifying for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil. A third Leverkusen player is still in with a chance of joining them. The Germany U23 players also experienced success in their last two international friendlies of the season.
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Traveling to North America for the World Cup this summer to see your favorite Bayer 04 players? Here’s a quick cheat sheet with thumbnail portraits and insider tips for each city from a local expert, so you can make the most of your visit and activities beyond the game!
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A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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