Argentina scored the first goal of the night on 35 minutes and Lionel Messi made it 2-0 with a penalty in the middle of the second half (73'). The Netherlands team refused to give up and the former Bundesliga player Wout Weghorst found the back of the net on 83 and 90+11 minutes – giving the 88,000 spectators 30 minutes of extra time. There were no more goals scored so it came down to penalties. Argentina progressed to the last four by missing one less spot kick than the Oranje. Both Exequiel Palacios with Argentina and Jeremie Frimpong with the Netherlands did not play on the night.
Palacios and Co. face Croatia in the semi-finals. Croatia beat Brazil 2-1 on penalties in the other quarter-final. The match on Tuesday 13 December kicks off at 20.00 CET.
Sardar Azmoun with Iran and Piero Hincapie with Ecuador went out of the 2022 World Cup at the group stage.
Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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