Odilon Kossounou and Ivory Coast take on Guinea-Bissau in the opening game on Saturday night. The hosts then face Nigeria on 18 January, when Kossounou was set to come up against Werkself teammate Victor Boniface until the striker suffered an injury during preparations for the tournament, forcing him to return to Germany early. The Ivorians' third and final fixture in Group A is against Equatorial Guinea on 22 January.
Meanwhile, Edmond Tapsoba and Burkina Faso play their first match against Mauritiana in Group D on 16 January. That's followed by the clash with Algeria on 20 January, before Angola await on 23 January.
Then on 17 January, the third Bayer 04 player will get started in the tournament as Amine Adli and Morocco face Tanzania in Group F. In their second group game, the World Cup semi-finalists meet DR Congo on 21 January, before concluding the group stage against Zambia three days later. For Adli, who switched allegiance to Morocco in autumn of last year having represented France at youth level, the Africa Cup of Nations is the first major international tournament of his career. For Kossounou and Tapsoba it's their second appearance at AFCON.
The round of 16 kicks off three days after the group stage, from 27 to 30 January. The quarter-finals will be played on 2 and 3 February, with the two semis taking place on 7 February. Following the third-place playoff on 10 February, the final will be held the next day at 21:00 CET.
THE GROUP MATCHES AT A GLANCE (all times CET)
Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast/Group A):
13.01, 21:00: Ivory Coast v Guinea-Bissau
18.01, 18:00: Ivory Coast v Nigeria
22.01, 18:00: Ivory Coast v Equatorial Guinea
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso/Group D):
16.01, 15:00: Burkina Faso v Mauritiana
20.01, 15:00: Algeria v Burkina Faso
23.01, 21:00: Angola v Burkina Faso
Amine Adli (Morocco/Group F):
17.01, 18:00: Morocco v Tanzania
21.01, 15:00: Morocco v DR Congo
24.01, 21:00: Zambia v Morocco
Whether it's sport or his private live: Captain Edmond Tapsoba tells us his top three personal favourites in twelve categories in edition #56 of the Werkself Magazine. The defender had to answer as quickly as he reacts on the pitch. 'On the Podium' with Edmond Tapsoba!
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“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
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A floodlit derby, two further night games and a top-of-the-table clash on a Saturday afternoon: The German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed the exact dates for four further matchdays in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. This means all fixtures for the Bayer 04 women’s team up to the end of the year, as well as the first two in 2027, are now confirmed.
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It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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Several Werkself players are set to represent their national teams during the final international break of 2026. Here’s an overview of who has been called up and the matches they will face in November. This article will be updated regularly.
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