Jonathan Tah stood on the sidelines ready to come on to help secure victory for Germany. However, the final whistle at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam prevented the central defender earning another cap, but did not diminish his joy at the 3-2 win against Holland. Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz did not appear either after the Bayer 04 trio were in the starting line-up against Serbia on Wednesday.
While Germany were able to celebrate a successful start to the European Championship qualification campaign, the other Werkself pros were left empty-handed. That particularly applies to Aleksandar Dragovic and Julian Baumgartlinger who were in the Austria side that lost 1-0 against Poland and now experienced another setback with a 4-2 defeat in Israel. Drago and Baumi went the full distance against the hosts coached by fellow countryman Andreas Herzog.
Tin Jedvaj played 77 minutes for Croatia in a 2-1 defeat in the European qualifier away to Hungary. Lukas Hradecky also tasted defeat with Finland in the match against Italy: The Bayer 04 keeper had to pick the ball out of the net twice as his team lost 2-0 against the World Cup winners of 2006. Charles Aránguiz also played the full 90 minutes as Chile lost 3-1 to Mexico in a friendly played in the USA.
While the other international players are on their way back to Leverkusen, Aránguiz, Hradecky and U19 player Adrian Stanilewicz still have games to play for their countries.
Lukas Hradecky (Finland)
Tuesday, 26 March (18.00 CET,Yerevan): Armenia vs Finland (European qualifier, Group J)
Charles Aránguiz (Chile)
Wednesday, 27 March (02.00 CET, Houston): USA vs Chile (Friendly)
Adrian Stanilewicz (Poland U20)
Tuesday, 26 March (18.00 CET, Bielsko-Biala): Poland U20 vs Germany U20 (Elite League)
The fixture details for the Bayer 04 Women’s first match in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been confirmed: As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning, the Leverkusen Women will face second-tier side FC Viktoria Berlin in the first round on Sunday 27 September at 14:00 CEST.
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Once again, well over 100 Werkself fans were delighted to receive an invitation from the club’s record appearance-maker, Rüdiger Vollborn, to the sold-out Schwadbud at the BayArena. This time, the supporters listened as the club historian provided fascinating, exclusive insights into the period from Bayer 04 being founded in 1904 to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979. A journey through time is also planned for the upcoming ‘Rudi lädt ein’ event in early November – this time focusing on the years of the Nazi regime.
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Getting in the mood for the new season together, exchanging ideas and looking ahead to the coming months: Bayer 04 welcomed partners to the BayArena for the annual sponsors season-launch event. In a relaxed atmosphere, the management, head coach and players came together with representatives from partner companies to celebrate the start of the 2026/27 season.
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Happy children’s faces at the SSV Lützenkirchen training ground: For the 25th time, the Birkenberg soccer school – organised by SportBund Leverkusen – offered participating youngsters an exciting holiday activity. Meeting a Bayer 04 player has now become a cherished tradition. This time, Ibrahim Maza visited the 150 children and spoke to them about his World Cup experiences, amongst other things. “It’s always lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm for football,” said the 20-year-old, after bringing a sparkle to many eyes with selfies and autographs.
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