Wirtz and Retsos will not join national squads
In agreement with Bayer 04 and their national associations, Florian Wirtz and Panos Retsos will not be involved in international fixtures this week.
Germany coach Stefan Kuntz selected Wirtz for the Germany U21 squad for the first time for the Euro qualifiers against Moldova on 3 September and Belgium on 8 September. In agreement with Bayer 04 head coach Peter Bosz, Kuntz will now manage without the 17-year-old.
"Of course, we have important games in September. Nevertheless, we look at each individual player to decide what's best for his current situation and further development. We would have been very happy to have Florian Wirtz with us. But that doesn't make sense at the moment with the break after the Europa League tournament. He first needs to have a decent pre-season before his first U21 internationals," explained the Germany coach.
In the case of Panos Retsos, who should be joining the Greece U21 squad for the two Euro qualifiers against the Czech Republic and San Marino, Bayer 04 and the Greek FA have both agreed that Retsos should complete the pre-season ahead of the 2020/21 campaign with the Werkself and miss out on the internationals.
Related News
Bundesliga - 26.10.2026
Werkself review: ‘It wasn’t our best day’
It has been a long time since feeling what it’s like to come away empty-handed. The last – and so far only – defeat of the season, in Elversberg, was two months ago. Since then, Bayer 04 have followed that up with seven wins and a draw. Now it has happened again away to TSG Hoffenheim. As the match progressed, the Werkself grew in confidence and “could even have scored the opening goal”, as Robert Andrich said after the game. In the end, it was the side from Sinsheim who sealed a 3–0 victory after “hectic closing stages” (kicker). The Werkself review.
Show more
Werkself-TV - 25.10.2026
Women: TV-highlights of 0-2 loss at Nürnberg
Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-2 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg on Matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
Show more
Werkself-TV - 25.10.2026
TV highlights of 0-3 loss at TSG Hoffenheim
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 0-3 loss at TSG Hoffenheim on Matchday 7 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
Women - 25.10.2026
Setback in Nuremberg: Bayer 04 women suffer first away defeat
After nine points from their first three away matches of the 2026/27 season, the Bayer 04 Women suffered their first away defeat on Sunday afternoon. The 2-0 defeat away to FC Nürnberg, who were winless before today, represented a setback for coach Roberto Pätzold’s team in the race for the top spots in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. Fany Pronietz scored both goals (62’, 85’) for the home side.
Show more
