Germany dominated proceedings from the kick-off. Most of the attacks came via Brandt with the winger providing his first assist on eight minutes as Serge Gnabry opened the scoring. Brandt tried his luck shortly after that but the Fiji keeper saved his effort on goal but Nils Petersen was on hand to tap in the rebound on 14 minutes. Bender put through a brilliant pass on the half-hour mark for Max Meyer to make it 3-0.
The Germany youngsters were on the road to victory but winning by a five-goal margin was essential to ensure progress to the last four. And Brandt certainly played his part: He fed Petersen just before the break for the fifth goal. And Brandt laid on another goal for Petersen in the second half to round off the scoring at 10-0 on 70 minutes. Germany were through to the quarter-final stage of the competition. Hrubesch next leads his players out on Saturday night (18.00 CET) against Portugal in Brasilia.
Krahn in quarter-finals
Annike Krahn is already in the last eight. The Leverkusen central defender and her Germany team-mates lost the final group match against Canada 2-1 but succeeded in finishing second in Group F. A victory on Friday night (21.00 CET) against China in Salvador da Bahia would put the team coached by Silvia Neid in reach of a medal.
Getting ready for the Champions League
BayArena looked spick and span on Wednesday. Preparations are underway for the new Champions League campaign and the Bayer 04 outfitters Anson's brought along the new suits. For the first team, coaching staff and support staff it means: standing still and being measured. New signing Joel Pohjanpalo was followed on Snapchat and the story is available at bayer04snaps until tomorrow night.
Tough training session
That was followed by training. The morning after the 2-1 win in the benefit match at Kickers Offenbach saw the coaching staff hold a two-hour session with intensive drills focussing on technique and tactics. The first team squad put in a shift with circuits, passing practice and moves on the agenda with Levin Öztunali sharing his opinion with Bayer 04 TV: “We’ve worked really hard today and over the past few weeks. The season can start soon.”
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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