While the Bundesliga takes a break and the Bayer 04 pros left at home train as usual under the Bayer Cross, the nations have been battling for a place in next year's World Cup in Russia. We look at the second part of the international break from a Werkself perspective:
On Monday night, the Germany team under coach Joachim Löw continued their march through Group C. The group leaders, with a perfect record of wins to date, clocked up an impressive 6-0 victory against Norway. Julian Brandt, who earned his eleventh full cap three days ago in the 2-1 win against the Czech Republic with 60 minutes on the pitch, did not play against Norway as he joined Bernd Leno and Benjamin Henrichs on the subs' bench .
Switzerland are as good as through to the World Cup finals: With Admir Mehmedi in their ranks, the unblemished record of the Group B leaders was maintained with a 3-0 win for the second time in succession – the win against Andorra was followed this time by the same score away to Latvia. The Werkself striker played the full 90 minutes but did not find the back of the net.
The international fixtures have not been as successful for Julian Baumgartlinger, the captain of Austria. The 1-0 defeat in Wales on Saturday was followed by a 1-1 draw at home to Georgia on Tuesday night that almost certainly means their chance of making the World Cup finals has gone: Fourth in Group D, Austria are five points behind second spot with two games to play .
Vladlen Yurchenko and Bayer 04 new signing Panagiotis Retsos are still in with a shout of playing at the World Cup finals in Russia. However, Ukraine suffered a heavy blow on Tuesday night: Without Yurchenko, Ukraine lost 2-0 to Iceland in Group I and the Nordic team have now taken over their second place. A similar fate befell the home nation of Retsos. After his international debut on Thursday, the 19-year-old did not get on in the 2-1 defeat to Belgium on Sunday. Following the home defeat against the group leaders, Greece slipped from second to third in Group H.
Charles Aránguiz and Chile suffered a surprise 3-0 defeat to Paraguay on Friday. The 28-year-old picked up his fourth yellow card in the South America World Cup qualifiers that brought a one-match suspension. Aránguiz therefore left his national side early and was back training in Leverkusen on Tuesday.
The Germany U19s beat European Champions England 3-1 in a friendly on Tuesday. Bayer 04 youngster Kai Havertz picked up a booking in the first half and netted the final goal for Germany in added time at the end of the game. The two U19 players Atakan Akkaynak and Sam Schreck were on the sidelines against England.
The next international break is at the start of October 2017.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended midfielder Noah Mbamba’s contract by twelve months and sent the Belgian U21 international on loan to France. At FC Lorient, the 21-year-old – whose contract at Leverkusen now runs to 30 June 2029 – is set to gain playing time in Ligue 1 and, through strong performances and further development, put himself in the running for a future place in the Werkself squad.
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Spurred on by a flawless hat-trick from Cornelia Kramer, the Bayer 04 women’s team won their penultimate pre-season friendly in commanding fashion. As part of the season launch, the Werkself beat Dutch top-flight side Feyenoord 7–0. In front of 3,000 spectators at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, Kramer (6’, 25’, 45’), Sofie Zdebel (47’), Maja Sternad (59'), Natasha Kowalski (83') and Vanessa Fudalla (86') scored the goals for coach Roberto Pätzold’s side.
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The Shareholders’ Committee of Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH has extended the contracts of the two managing directors, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes, ahead of schedule. The CEO, Fernando Carro (62), will continue in his role until 30 June 2029, and managing director sport Simon Rolfes (44) will remain in post until 30 June 2031.
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There’s plenty for Bayer 04 fans to enjoy both on and off the pitch at the official 2026 season launch. In addition to the women’s team taking on Feyenoord at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium at 13:15 CEST and the men’s team facing Sevilla at the BayArena at 15:30 CEST, fans of all ages can enjoy a range of activities – and get to meet Bayer 04 players and former players in the process. The Fanwelt is also offering a special promotion: buy a new shirt and get free printing! Here’s an overview of everything you need to know about the season launch, including the live streams.
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