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 will be preparing young talents for a potential sporting career in an even more systematic way in future. The club is breaking new ground to help develop their academic, social and personal skills as well. With the ‘Haus der Talente' or 'Talent House’, Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH is creating a new centre for the development of young athletes in a central location in Leverkusen. Once completed – expected to be in the summer of 2027 – the project will be run in partnership with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-3 loss against Werder Bremen on the 26th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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Bayer 04 Women have finished in fifth place after the best Bundesliga season in the club's history in terms of points. Roberto Pätzold's side went down 3-1 at home to SV Werder Bremen on the final matchday. With 46 points and 15 wins, they've bettered the previous record campaign of 2024/25. Despite periods of pressure, Cornelia Kramer's 73rd-minute strike was not enough at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, and the Werkself miss out on European qualification despite a strong end to the season.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a conract extension with home-grown talent Sofie Zdebel by a further year ahead of schedule. The 21-year-old Germany U23 international will stay at the club until 30 June 2028.
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