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.”
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.
Show more
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 3-0 win against FC St. Pauli in the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal 2025/26...
Show more
Once again in the last four! Bayer 04 put in a mature and, for long stretches, commanding performance to defeat a courageous FC St. Pauli in the quarter-finals of the 2025/26 DFB Pokal to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the third time in a row. Martin Terrier gave Leverkusen the lead on 32 minutes before Patrik Schick made it 2-0 on 63 minutes. Substitute Jonas Hofmann capped off a strong second half for the Werkself with the third goal in added time.
Show more
The German Football League (DFL) has announced the three candidates for the title of Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for January. That includes Werkself player Jarell Quansah. Fans of Bayer 04 can vote for their favourite on the Bundesliga app from now until Thursday, 5 January (23:59 CET).
Show more
As in the past two years, the Werkself are aiming to come out on top in the DFB Pokal quarter-finals on Tuesday night, 3 February (kick-off: 20:45 CET). With eleven home games in a row without defeat against the Kiezkicker, the Black and Reds go into the floodlit match in confident mood. But the Pokal, as is often said, has its own magic and the team from the Millerntor has much more to offer than the current 17th place in the Bundesliga would suggest. After all, Bayer 04 are one of the big German teams the combative Hamburgers have already made life difficult for this season. The matchday news.
Show more
