As expected, Germany coach Joachim Löw called up Bayer 04 youngster Florian Wirtz on Friday for his squad for the three forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. This is the first call-up to the Germany senior squad for the 17-year-old midfielder.
Rudi Völler on the call-up: “It’s great for Florian and also for us as a club, of course, that he can get the chance to be in the Germany squad. Although he is at the start of his development as a 17-year-old, this call-up shows how far Florian has already come. He’s earned it.”
And Simon Rolfes also shared his view: "To my mind, it won't be the last call-up for Florian Wirtz. Flo has performed consistently this season in spite of his young age. It's impressive that he has developed into a key player for Bayer 04."
The opening game for Germany including Wirtz and fellow Leverkusen teammate Jonathan Tah is almost on the doorstep: The Löw team play Iceland in Duisburg on Thursday, 25 March. That game is followed three days later by the match against Romania in Bucharest. Germany end the international break back in Duisburg. They will face North Macedonia on Wednesday, 31 March. All three games kick off at 20.45 CET.
The forthcoming U21 European Championship takes the young Leverkusen players Lennart Grill (22) and Moussa Diaby (21) to South Eastern Europe. The group stage of the U21 European Championship is being played in Slovenia and Hungary from next week. Grill is with the Germany team, Diaby with France. The European Championship group games will be played between 24 and 31 March with all Germany U21 matches live on ProSieben. The knockout round will be played from 31 to 6 June. That will involve the teams finishing first and second in the four groups.
The coronavirus pandemic has had far-reaching effects on the forthcoming international break. That means Bayer 04 international players will not take part in games being played in so-called "virus variant areas". This means, for example, centre forward Patrik Schick, who has scored twice for the Werkself in successive Bundesliga games, will only play for the Czech Republic in the World Cup qualifier against Estonia, which has been moved to Lublin in Poland. Schick will not be involved in the following matches in the Czech capital Prague against Belgium or in Cardiff against Wales.
Aleksandar Dragovic is travelling to the capital of his home country for two World Cup qualifiers. The defender will play for Austria in Vienna against the Faroe Islands and, three days later, Denmark.
Edmond Tapsoba is set to play for Burkina Faso in two Africa Cup qualifiers. The opponents are Uganda and South Sudan.
International fixtures involving Werkself players
Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz (Germany):
Thursday, 25 March (20.45 CET, Duisburg): Germany v Iceland (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Sunday, 28 March (20.45 CET, Bucharest): Romania v Germany (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Duisburg): Germany v North Macedonia (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Lennart Grill (Germany U21):
Wednesday, 24 March (21.00 CET, Székesfehérvár): Hungary U21 v Germany U21 (Euros group stage)
Saturday, 27 March (21.00 CET, Székesfehérvár): Germany U21 v Netherlands U21 (Euros group stage)
Tuesday, 30 March (18.00 CEST, Budapest): Germany U21 v Romania U21 (Euros group stage)
Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria):
Sunday, 28 March (20.45 CET, Vienna): Austria v Faroe Islands (World Cup qualifier, Group F)
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Vienna): Austria v Denmark (World Cup qualifier, Group F)
Patrik Schick (Czech Republic):
Wednesday, 24 March (20.45 CET, Tallin): Estonia v Czech Republic (World Cup qualifier, Group E)
Moussa Diaby (France U21):
Thursday, 25 March (21.00 CET, Szombathely): France U21 v Denmark U21 (Euros group stage)
Sunday, 28 March (21.00 CEST, Szombathely): Russia U21 v France U21 (Euros group stage)
Wednesday, 31 March (18.00 CEST, Györ): Iceland U21 v France U21 (Euros group stage)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso):
Wednesday, 24 March (14.00 CET, Kampala): Uganda v Burkina Faso (Africa Cup qualifier, Group B)
Monday, 29 March (18.00 CET, Ouagadougou): Burkina Faso v South Sudan (Africa Cup qualifier, Group B)
Edmond Tapsoba has signed an early extension to his contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. With two years left on his current deal, the 27-year-old Burkina Faso international has extended his contract until 30 June 2031. The centre-back joined as a young talent from Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes at the start of 2020.
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A special surprise: during the preview for the 'Fierté Burkinabè' documentary about Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer 04 directors Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes announced Tapsoba's contract extension until 2031 together with the centre-back. He then spoke to Werkself-TV about his time in Leverkusen so far and future ambitions...
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This evening was deeply moving: At a really special setting, Bayer 04 exclusively presented the specially produced documentary ‘Fierté Burkinabè’ ("Burkinabe Pride") about Edmond Tapsoba on Tuesday. For the preview at the BayArena, the parents of the Werkself player and other close companions travelled all the way from his African homeland Burkina Faso. The 45-minute film shows Tapsoba's extraordinary career from his beginnings in Ouagadougou to Leverkusen as well as the work of his foundation "Fondation Edmond Tapsoba", with representatives from Burkina Faso also present. Fans can watch the documentary free of charge on Werkself TV and YouTube from Wednesday night at 20:00 CEST.
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Bayer 04 have signed left-back Carolin Simon from champions Bayern Munich for the coming season. The 33-year-old former Germany international, who played for Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016, has signed a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Women have strengthened for the coming season with the signing of Lobke Loone. The 23-year-old Dutch striker joins from Utrecht on a contract until 30 June 2028.
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