Following discussion between Germany coach Joachim Löw and Germany U21 coach Stefan Kuntz, Jonathan Tah has travelled to Amsterdam today. The Bayer 04 defender has been called up to the senior squad for Tuesday's Nations League game away to France in Paris (20.45 CET, live on ARD). On Friday, Tah captained the Germany U21 team in the 2-1 win against Norway to put Germany through to the 2019 European Championships in Italy and San Marino.
Stefan Kuntz said: "Jonathan has demonstrated his leadership role in exemplary fashion. He has totally focused on us qualifying for the European Championships and he led the way in the game against Norway. He has absolutely deserved his call-up to the senior squad." Jonathan Tah responded to the unexpected call-up as follows. "Firstly, I'm really happy about the win against Norway. Our clear target was to go through to the European Championships finals and we've achieved that with an impressive and battling performance. Of course, I'm now very happy about the call-up to the Germany squad. It's a great sign of approval from the national coach that he called me up for the game in France."
Tah was captain of the Germany U21's on Friday night as the Bayer 04 central defender helped take Germany through to next year's European Championship finals in Italy and San Marino. Germany secured a 2-1 win against major rivals Norway in front of a 4,300 crowd in Ingolstadt and thereby qualify for the European Championship finals ahead of Tuesday's match against Ireland in Heidenheim (18.00 CET). Tah provided the assist for Germany's opener scored by Schalke player Cedric Teuchert with a diagonal pass from his own half. Luca Waldschmidt (Freiburg) doubled the lead (31') before Norway pulled a goal back on 46 minutes. Former Werkself team-mate Benny Henrichs (now at AS Monaco) played alongside Tah at left back for the full 90 minutes.
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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