Tah, who suffered a dead leg in the final group match against Austria and wasn't able to train fully, was fit again in time for the semi-finals. The former Leverkusen player Benjamin Henrichs missed out due to a one-match ban. The Germany coach Stefan Kuntz replaced him at right back with Lukas Klostermann. Nadiem Amiri started up front in place of Marco Richter.
The Germany team started by pressing forward into the opposition box at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. Rumania focused on their defensive game with counter-attacks and set pieces while Germany looked good up front. It turned into a lively game with Germany having more of possession while Rumania always looked capable of posing a threat. On 21 minutes, Amiri broke through the middle in a counter-attack with the Hoffenheim player scoring with a low drive from 17 yards out to make it 1-0. Rumania had more possession after going behind and looked to find a solution on the pitch. Tah and Co. were lucky when George Pușcaș hit the post on 24 minutes a minute later Rumania found the back of the net from the penalty kick (25'). Rumania were were inspired and Germany looked right after a second drinks break on the half-hour mark. Rumania then hit back again just before the half-time whistle as they turned the game round: Tah endeavoured to stop Andrei Ivan on the edge of the box but his cross found Pușcaș in the middle and he was able to nod Rumania into a 2-1 lead.
Tah was shown the yellow card two minutes after the restart: After losing the ball in midfield the captain held onto the double goalscorer to frustrate a counter-attack. Germany fought their way back into the game as the Kuntz half-time talk appeared to do the trick. Germany then won a penalty on 50 minutes. Luca Waldschmidt tucked the penalty away into the right corner – 2-2. Germany were on top in the second half but were unable to take the lead. Rumania were no longer capable of the counter-attacking style of the first half. In temperatures of almost 40 degrees, Waldschmidt was able to prevent the game going into extra time. The Freiburg player hit a free kick through the wall to make it 3-2. Germany finally wrapped up proceedings in added time: Rumania's Alex Pascanu was shown a red card for pulling the shirt of substitute Lukas Nmecha and Amiri converted the spot kick to make it 4-2.
The final on Sunday night at 20.45 CET as against winner of the second semi-final between Spain and France.
A Werkself pro is in the final of a continental championship and two others are aiming for the semi-finals. Chile with Charles Aránguiz play Colombia on Saturday 29 June (01.00 CET). Leon Bailey and Jamaica are looking to go through to the last four in the Gold Cup – late on Saturday night (23.30 CET) the Reggae Boyz play Panama. Bayer 04 U19 player Marc Lamti is in the second group match for Tunisia at the Africa Cup.
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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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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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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