
The Werkself defender played in a back three alongside Niklas Süle and Matthias Ginter. The 23-year-old initially had little to do as Germany made an impressive start playing a high, pressing game. Leroy Sané scored the deserved opener on 12 minutes. Germany failed to maintain their early domination but recovered in the second half. Marco Reus doubled the lead on 62 minutes and he was replaced on 76 minutes by Julian Brandt. Kai Havertz remained on the bench against Belarus.
World Cup runners-up Croatia, with Tin Jedvaj in the starting eleven, beat Wales 2-1 in the Euro 2020 qualifier on Saturday night. Jedvaj was booked on 50 minutes. Lukas Hradecky was in goal for Finland as they looked to book a place at Euro 2020. The Werkself number one kept a clean sheet with Finland securing a 2-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Paulinho was also in action on Saturday for the Brazil U23s: In the final group game at the Maurice Revello Tournament, a youth tournament in Provence, Brazil beat Qatar 5-0 with Paulinho netting a double. That was on the back of 4-0 victories for the South Americans against France on Thursday and Guatemala last Sunday.
Aleksandar Dragovic played for Austria against Slovenia on Friday in the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Austria won 1-0 with Dragovic going the full distance. Julian Baumgartlinger missed out due to a late injury. "Julian Baumgartlinger suffered severe inflammation in his ankle that unfortunately rules him out for the games against Slovenia and North Macedonia," announced the Austrian FA on Twitter.
Chile won 2-1 in a friendly against Haiti on Friday. Charles Aránguiz came on just before the end of the game on 88 minutes. Jamaica faced the USA in a friendly. The Reggae Boyz won 1-0 with Leon Bailey an unused sub. The 21-year-old has to wait to make his international debut – he has another chance in the Gold Cup the week after next.
Next fixtures for our internationals:
Julian Brandt, Kai Havertz and Jonathan Tah (Germany)
Tuesday, 11 June (20.45 CET, Mainz): Germany v Estonia (Euro qualifier, Group C)
Jonathan Tah (Germany U21)
Monday, 17 June (21.00 CET, Udine): Germany U21 v Denmark U21 (Euros, Group stage)
Thursday, 20 June (21.00 CET, Trieste): Germany U21 v Serbia U21 (Euros, Group stage)
Sunday, 23 June (21.00 CET, Udine): Austria U21 v Germany U21 (Euros, Group stage)
Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria)
Monday, 10 June (20.45 CET, Skopje): North Macedonia v Austria (Euro qualifier, Group G)
Lukas Hradecky (Finland)
Tuesday, 11 June (20.45 CET, Vaduz): Liechtenstein v Finland (Euro qualifier, Group J)
Tin Jedvaj (Croatia)
Tuesday, 11 June (20.45 CET, Varaždin): Croatia v Tunisia (Friendly)
Charles Aránguiz (Chile)
Tuesday, 18 June (01.00 CET, Sao Paulo): Japan v Chile (Copa America, Group stage)
Saturday, 22 June (01.00 CET, Salvador): Ecuador v Chile (Copa America, Group stage)
Tuesday, 25 June (01.00 CET, Rio de Janeiro): Chile v Uruguay (Copa America, Group stage)
Leon Bailey (Jamaica)
Tuesday, 18 June (03.00 CET, Kingston): Jamaica v Honduras (Gold Cup, Group stage)
Saturday, 22 June (01.00 CET, Houston): El Salvador v Jamaica (Gold Cup, Group stage)
Wednesday, 26 June (02.00 CET, Los Angeles): Jamaica v Curaçao (Gold Cup, Group stage)
Paulinho (Brasilien U23)
Tuesday 11 June to Thursday 13 June: Play-offs (Maurice Revello Tournament)
Isaac Kiese Thelin (Sweden – on stand-by)
Monday, 10 June (20.45 CET, Madrid): Spain v Sweden (Euro qualifier, Group F)


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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