Baumi' led out Austria as captain against North Macedonia and central defender Dragovic held the Austrian defence together. And the hosts got off to a flying start at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna: David Alaba (FC Bayern) converted an assist from Stefan Lainer (Borussia Mönchengladbach) on seven minutes. The team coached by Franco Foda dominated the game and striker Marko Arnautovic had good chances to add to the score (17', 22', 35',). As the 30-year-old missed those opportunities, Austria went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead.
The hosts scored again early in the second half: This time it was Lainer who doubled the lead with a tap-in (48'). Austria remained in control of the match and conceded few chances to the north Macedonians. When the opponents did pose a threat, Baumgartlinger was on the spot to clear (53'). Vlatko Stojanovski pulled a goal back in added time (90+3') but that did not spoil the Austrians celebrating qualification for their third European Championship finals.
Germany will also be at Euro 2020 thanks to a convincing 4-0 win against Belarus with the Werkself pros Jonathan Tah and Nadiem Amiri on the bench for the full 90 minutes. The result means the team coached by Joachim Löw will finish in the top two positions in Group C. After a long period where Germany found it difficult to break down the Macedonian defence, it was Matthias Ginter who gave Germany the lead: Playing at his home ground in Mönchengladbach, the central defender scored an impressive goal with a back heel from a Serge Gnabry pass to make it 1-0 on 42 minutes.
The hosts immediately set out to seal the result after the restart – with success. Just four minutes were played when Leon Goretzka hit the ball into the bottom left corner with a low drive from 13 yards out. Germany produced an impressive performance with Toni Kroos scoring the third goal on 55 minutes. Belarus failed to pull a goal back when Igor Stasevich missed a penalty with Germany keeper Manuel Neuer making an excellent save (75'). Kroos netted his second for the final score of 4-0 and qualification for next years European Championships.
Werkself youth goalkeeper Marcel Lotke did not play in the group match for qualification to the U19 European Championships. His Polish team-mates beat Kosovo in a convincing 4-1 win to secure their first points in the qualifiers.
Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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Following on from the emotional last-minute win at Union Berlin, the Bayer 04 Women now face a promoted team: On Saturday, 31 January (12:00 CET), coach Roberto Pätzold's team welcome FC Nürnberg to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for their first home game of the new year. In their second season in the Bundesliga, the Franconians have impressed with 16 points from the first 15 games.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with Germany U19 international Montrell Culbreath. The attacking midfielder and right winger has penned a deal with the Bundesliga club that runs to 30 June 2030. Culbreath has played for the Werkself as a youth player since 2023. Last December, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for the Leverkusen first team in the Bayer 04 3-1 away win at RB Leipzig.
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The Werkself's 3-0 victory over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League certainly left many happy faces: Malik Tillman was delighted with his brace, Robert Andrich with the clean sheet and coach Kasper Hjulmand with the "manner" of this significant home win. With an overwhelming superiority and over 75 per cent possession at times, Bayer 04 deserved their place in the UCL play-off round. They will face a familiar foe in February. The Werkself review.
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