While Lennart Grill started on the bench, Florian Wirtz was in the starting eleven for the Germany U21 side at the MOL Arena in Szekesfehervar. The team under coach Stefan Kuntz took control of the game from the start but were unable to convert their apparent dominance into goals. The Danes were compact and they had the best chance of the first half in added time through Jacob Brun Larsen.
Denmark continued to pose problems in counter-attacks after the restart and Germany too often lost the ball going forwards. It was no surprise that the neighbours from the North scored the opening goal on 69 minutes through Wahid Faghir. For a long time it looked like that would be the winner for the team coached by Albert Capellas but Stefan Kuntz produced the magic touch in the closing stages. Central defender Lars Lukas Mai, who replaced Florian Wirtz on 87 minutes, headed on a corner from Arne Maier and Lukas Nmecha turned the ball over the line at the far post to make it 1-1 (88').
There was extra time full of end-to-end action. First Jonathan Burkardt was able to head home a cross from David Raum to give Germany a 2-1 lead (100') but the Denmark captain Victor Nelsson levelled from the penalty spot eight minutes later. The match went to penalties as Burkardt could only hit the woodwork with two minutes to play.
Germany had the edge in the penalty shootout. The Mainz 05 keeper Finn Dahmen saved two penalties. The victory takes the Germany team through to a semi-final against the Netherlands on Thursday, 3 June with the kick off at 21.00 CEST. The Oranje beat France 2-1 in their quarter-final.
The junior team of the World Cup winners looked in good shape for a long time in Budapest. From a Moussa Diaby corner, the Leipzig player Dayot Upamecano was able to head France into the lead on 23 minutes. However, the Dutch side grew stronger after the restart and levelled on 50 minutes through Myron Boadu. Diaby was substituted ten minutes later and the French team were hit by a knockout blow just before the end of the game. Boadu scored again to put Diaby and Co. out of the competition.
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 personal 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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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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Two months of preparation, five friendlies and the return of a familiar training camp location: After finishing fifth in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga last season, the Werkself will return to training on Tuesday, 23 June. Bayer04.de outlines the key dates in the 2026 summer timetable.
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With sixth place at the end of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign, Bayer 04 ended a season in the top third of the table for the ninth time in a row. While the Werkself were narrowly eliminated in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by eventual finalists Arsenal, the Black and Reds reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third season in succession. As in previous years, you once again have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app up to and including 11 June.
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