At the start of the international break, Germany were only able to draw 3-3 against Turkey on Wednesday night; the Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Nadiem Amiri came on in the second half. The friendly involving Germany is followed by a Nations League clash in Ukraine on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 20.45 CEST/live on ARD). Germany coach Joachim Löw announced his 23-man squad for the away game on Thursday.
The 60-year-old has kept Werkself central defender Tah in his squad alongside former Leverkusen players Bernd Leno, Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz. In contrast, Nadiem Amiri will not travel to Ukraine. The 23-year-old is one of five players Löw has not included in his squad for the next game.
The youngest Bundesliga goalscorer, the gold Fritz Walter Medal – and the next sporting milestone in sight. Bayer 04 youngster Florian Wirtz is in the current U21 squad and, if he plays in the Euro qualifier against Moldova on Friday, 9 October (kick-off: 18.15 CEST/live on ProSieben MAXX), he will become the youngest Germany U21 international – at the age of 17 years and 159 days.
This week, the U21 head coach Stefan Kuntz again praised the Leverkusen player. “Florian is one of the outstanding talents in Germany,” said the 57-year-old. “We’re happy we have such a very, very big talent here with us. Because he has things that we can’t completely cover in our squad.”
Wirtz was originally due to make his debut for the oldest Germany junior team in September. However, the Werkself’s participation in the Europa League led to the parties agreeing to postpone his debut.
His record last season is worth a look: 7 goals in 24 Bundesliga matches – 3 goals in 4 DFB Cup games– 2 goals in 3 appearances in the Europa League. Lucas Alario always proved reliable in front of the opposition goal last term. The Argentina international is now in his fourth season at the Werkself – and on Wednesday he was 28.
The central striker celebrated his birthday back home in Argentina: Alario, like Exequiel Palacios, is currently playing for La Albiceleste for a place at the World Cup. Bayer 04 wish: Many happy returns on your birthday, Lucas!
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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Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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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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Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
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