Sardar Azmoun was the first Black and Red player to start matchday two in the World Cup group stage. The Iran striker started up front against Wales. The Iranians, who lost 6-2 against England on matchday one, had the better chances in this game. Werkself player Azmoun was involved in nearly every attacking move and he appeared to have provided an assist for the opening goal – however the Iran goalscorer was offside when Azmoun played the pass. The Leverkusen player hit the post at the start of the second half (51'). Azmoun, who had been out of action for six weeks before the World Cup, was substituted on 68 minutes.
Iran pressed hard and they had an extra man after 86 minutes. However, it took until the ninth minute of added time before the deadlock was broken with a long-range effort. Iran doubled their lead in a counter-attack for the final score of 2-0 two minutes later. Azmoun and Co. go into the final matchday second in Group D. The game against the USA is on Tuesday 29 November (kick-off: 20.00 CET).
Argentina, with the Werkself player Exequiel Palacios in the line-up, clocked up their first three points on matchday two. Following the surprise 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in the opening match, the Albiceleste beat Mexico 2-0. Lionel Messi opened the scoring just after the hour mark with Enzo Fernandez settling the victory with a late goal. Palacios came off the bench on 69 minutes to make his World Cup debut.
Argentina, currently second with three points, play group leaders Poland (four points) on matchday three in Group C. The game kicks off at 20.00 CET on Wednesday 30 November.
Matchday two brought a head-to-head in Group A with Jeremie Frimpong’s Netherlands playing Ecuador with Piero Hincapie. The Oranje player Cody Gakpo opened the scoring on six minutes with Enna Valencia netting the leveller at 1-1 just after the restart (49'). Hincapie played the full 90 minutes for Ecuador with Frimpong remaining on the bench.
Both the Netherlands and Ecuador go into the final group match on four points with Senegal just behind on three points. Hosts Qatar, up against the Netherlands at 16.00 CET on 29 November, are pointless to date. Ecuador play Senegal at the same time.
Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA), in collaboration with the Bundesliga, has announced the six nominees for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for October 2026 – and Bayer 04’s Ibrahim Maza is among them. Fans of the Black and Reds can vote from now until Sunday 8 November (23:59 CET).
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On Tuesday night, the Leverkusen e-sports team played the first three of their six group stage matches in the second round of the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship. They were unable to secure more than a draw in either of their matches against FC Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The match against Bayern Munich ended in defeat.
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Once again, several Werkself players are set to represent their respective national teams during the final international break of the calendar year. Here is an overview of the Leverkusen players called up for international duty and the match dates. This will be updated regularly.
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The Bundesliga has announced the nominees for the ‘Top Goal of the Month’ award for October. Fans of the Werkself can now vote for, amongst others, Robert Andrich’s stunning volley from the match against Mainz 05 or Moussa Diaby’s curling shot into the top corner from the same fixture. Voting, exclusively on the Bundesliga app, remains open until Sunday, 8 November (23:59 CET).
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