Paulinho and Co. played the Paraguay U23 side on Saturday 1 February as part of the fourth and final matchday in Group B. The Bayer 04 forward came off the bench on 68 minutes and made it 1-1 seven minutes later. The 19-year-old led the way for his team to win 2-1 with central striker Pepe (Gremio Porto Alegre) scoring the winner on 89 minutes.
The Brazilian youngsters picked up maximum points and the Argentina U23 team did likewise in the parallel group. The Colombia and Uruguay U23 teams finished second in the groups. These four teams now play each other from 4 to 10 February for the two places at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo that are allocated to the South American association CONMEBOL.
The Finn is at the top. Bayer 04 goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky pulled level with Yann Sommer (Borussia Mönchengladbach) on the last matchday – in the table of the goalkeepers with the highest marks according to the kicker sports journal. Hradecky and Sommer have an average mark of 2.73. In third place is Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer (2.80).
Moussa Diaby was really flying in the first month of the year. For his impressive performance in January, where the Frenchman scored one goal and provided two assists in three games, the Bayer 04 player has been nominated for the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month. In addition to the 20-year-old, Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) and Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) have also been nominated. Fans can cast their votes at www.rookie-award.com/de.
The ‘kicker meets DAZN - the football podcast’ is in its 22nd edition. Simon Rolfes, the former Werkself player and now sporting director at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, was the guest of presenters Alex Schlüter and Benni Zander last Wednesday at SPOBIS 2020. The 38-year-old talked about his time after ending his playing career, discussions with Rudi Völler and working as a TV pundit. The podcast is available on the kicker and DAZN websites as well as usual podcast platforms.
The Werkself play VfB Stuttgart in the DFB Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday 5 February. The kick-off at the BayArena is at 18.30 CET. Tickets are still available for the game. They are available online via the ticket web shop, by phone Bayer the service centre (0049 (0) 214 5000 1904) or by visiting the Bayer 04 fan shops.
After just two points from their last four games, the situation has become trickier for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the bottom third of the table. Only three points separate the Foals from the relegation play-off spot. Coach Eugen Polanski's team is under pressure ahead of the home game against the Werkself on Saturday, 7 February (kick-off: 18:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Calling all eSports fans: On Saturday, 21 February (from 16:00 CET), the Werkself Wildcard Cup will take place at XPERION Köln (Hansaring 97, 50670 Cologne). Interested EA FC 26 amateur players will have the opportunity to win attractive prizes and a place in the VBL Open Play-offs by WOW. The play-offs are the final preliminary stage of the VBL Grand Final by WOW, the tournament for the German individual championship and, alongside the club championship (VBL CC), the most important sub-competition in the German eSports scene. Read on for information on registration.
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At its first general meeting on 5 February 2026 in Frankfurt am Main, the Frauen Bundesliga FBL e.V. made key decisions regarding the future direction of the Women’s Bundesliga. The meeting was based on the results of the negotiations with the German Football Association (DFB) over the past few weeks.
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Another efficient performance from the Werkself in the 3-0 home win against FC St. Pauli saw them reach the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third time in a row, and it was not the only record set on what was a successful evening. It meant head coach Kasper Hjulmand was delighted to "still be in with the chance of winning something". Like the coach, however, the ambitious Edmond Tapsoba also stated that he wanted to keep "improving" bit by bit: "We'll continue to give our all, no matter who we come up against." The Werkself review of the clash.
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