In contrast to Alario, the Bayer 04 players in Leverkusen trained in the rain this morning in view of the BayArena. The Werkself stadium was lit up in purple last night – for an important reason: Bayer 04 were showing their solidarity with the doctors, nurses and parents of premature children at the Leverkusen Clinic, which the club has had a partnership with for many years. The BayArena was lit up from 17.00 to 22.00 marking yesterday's World Prematurity Day and was in good company with the Empire State Building and Niagara Falls.
Thanks to the 4-0 victory over Belarus, Germany are through to next years European Championship finals – now they are looking to win the group. Three points against Northern Ireland on Tuesday night (kick-off at 20.45 CET in Frankfurt, live on RTL) would see Germany reach their targets with the Werkself duo Jonathan Tah and Nadiem Amiri on board. The other Bayer 04 pros in the Euro 2020 finals, Julian Baumgartlinger, Aleksandar Dragovic (both Austria) and Lucas Hradecky (Finland), can be relaxed going into the final matchday of the qualifiers: Both Finland, who play Greece tonight (kick-off: 20.45 CET, live on DAZN), and Austria (Tuesday at 20.45 CET in Latvia, live on DAZN) are both set to finish second in their groups..
After coming on as a substitute for Germany in the game against Belarus, Luca Waldschmidt had to go off again just seven minutes later. The 23-year-old collided with the visitors’ keeper Alexander Gutor and today had to undergo an operation on a facial fracture. During the week, further investigations are to be made on an injured right knee and ankle. That means the second highest scorer for Freiburg, with four goals to date, will almost certainly be unavailable for the game against Bayer 04 on Saturday (23 November, kick-off: 15.30 CET) as will the suspended Vincenzo Grifo.
After a successful start to the season, the Werkself eSports player Kai 'Deto' Wollin announced the play-offs as the target for the season in his recent interview. The 31-year-old and his partner Fabian 'B04_DUBZJE' de Cae could pick up important points tonight: The duo, representing Bayer 04 in the Virtual Bundesliga (the VBL), play third from bottom FC St Pauli at 18.00 CET and league leaders VfB Stuttgart at 20.45 CET. Bayer 04 are currently seventh in the table.
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
Show more
Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
Show more
Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
Show more
The next footballing highlight is just around the corner: the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the tournament, will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico and feature 48 teams for the first time. Bayer04.de has all the latest on the Werkself players called up to represent their countries.
Show more
While the majority of the Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their summer break, nine Werkself players will be on duty for their national teams in the coming days. Three of them are competing for a place at the World Cup, while six are involved in two friendlies with the Germany U23 team.
Show more
