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)
Former Werkself star Michael Ballack, who won the German Footballer of the Year award in 2002 while playing in Leverkusen, celebrates his 50th birthday on Saturday. Bayer 04 sends him its best wishes!
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Attention Werkself fans: In addition to tickets for the floodlit home match against Werder Bremen, tickets are now also available for the Bayer 04 women’s team’s two subsequent fixtures against Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Both matches in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga will take place at family-friendly kick-off times on Saturday afternoons. Here is the latest information on matchday ticket sales.
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Guéla Doué’s first 30 minutes in a Bayer 04 shirt during the draw away at Augsburg have definitely made the summer signing eager for more. The 23-year-old may have had to bide his time following his move from Strasbourg due to a muscular injury, but he’s been able to get a good taste of the BayArena atmosphere while watching from the stands in the home wins over Celje and RB Leipzig, as the Ivory Coast international explained in a chat with media representatives. “The fans’ enthusiasm and passion are incredible,” said Doué, looking forward to what lies ahead. The defender also spoke about his plans for a comeback, his teammates and his younger brother Désiré.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen welcomes a new official member to the Sponsors’ Club at the start of the 2026/27 campaign. KKV Kabelverlegung GmbH & Co. KG is expanding its existing partnership and will, with immediate effect, act as a supporter of the Bundesliga club at the second-highest partner level, just below the premium tier. As an official partner in the Sponsors’ Club, KKV will now enjoy significantly enhanced visibility during Werkself matches at the BayArena. The new contract is initially valid until 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has extended the existing partnership agreement with EDO Personalservice GmbH and, at the same time, expanded its collaboration with the Cologne-based company. The official partner in the Business Club has been upgraded within Bayer 04’s partner network. The revised and enhanced support for the club has initially been agreed for two years, running until 30 June 2028.
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