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.
The penultimate Bundesliga matchday of the calendar year marks the end of an eventful first half of the season for the Bayer 04 Women. After seven wins, one draw and four defeats from the first twelve games of the season, coach Roberto Pätzold's team can go above Werder Bremen in the table with a win on Friday, 12 December (kick-off: 18:30 CET).
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The third showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26 kicks off for the Leverkusen eSports team this Thursday, 11 December (live on the B04eSports Twitch channel from 19:00 CET). In the online preliminary round, the Black and Red will once again take on six previously drawn opponents for a place in the Top 16 and the associated entry into the offline knockout round, which will take place at this third showdown on 19 December in Cologne. Showdown One winners Bayer 04 will face FC St. Pauli, who won the second showdown last month, among others. The lowdown on first three opponents in this online preliminary round.
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Alejandro Grimaldo, of course! With his late equaliser (88') in the Champions League clash against Newcastle United, the Spaniard rescued a point for the Werkself, who took the lead through an own goal by Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (13') but went with two goals for the visitors scored by Anthony Gordon (51') and Lewis Miley (74'). It was the third draw for Bayer 04 in the current 2025/26 campaign on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase.
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The Werkself will be looking to continue their run in the Champions League against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET). The two victories without conceding a goal at Benfica (1:0) and Manchester City (2-0) will hopefully be followed by a win at home at the BayArena. Against the English side, who have a player with a Black and Red past in their ranks, the way to victory could be through efficiency in attack and quick transitional play. The latter in particular has recently caused the Magpies problems away from home on the European stage. Fans can also get the stylish matchday sticker for their Sound of Dreams tour pass at the Bayer 04 Fanwelt. The matchday news.
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For the first time ever, Bayer 04 have reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Youth League. At the end of the league phase, the Leverkusen U19s secured a 2-1 home win against Newcastle United on Wednesday, 10 December. Montrell Culbreath scored before half-time and Ferdinand Pohl doubled the lead after the restart in the clash with the English side. The UCL youth competition continues at the beginning of February with the Round of 32, which will be played away from home without a second leg.
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