Argentina with Exequiel Palacios progressed to the Round of 16 thanks to a 2-0 win against Poland. The victory for the Albiceleste, now with six points, secured top spot in the group. Poland are also through in second place with Mexico going home in third place in Group C.
Argentina play Australia in the Round of 16. The game on Saturday 3 December kicks off at 20.00 CET.
The Netherlands with Bayer 04 player Jeremie Frimpong in the squad finished top of Group A. The Oranje beat the pointless Qatar team 2-0 in their final group match. Frimpong did not play.
The Netherlands ended up with seven points and Senegal in second place with six points also go through to the knockout rounds. Frimpong and Co. face the USA in the last sixteen on Saturday 3 December (kick-off: 16.00 CET).
Piero Hincapie and Ecuador were also in Group A. The South Americans lost 2-1 to Senegal on the third and final matchday thereby losing second spot to the African side. With Hincapie in the defence, again playing the full 90 minutes in his third World Cup game, Ecuador levelled at 1-1 on 67 minutes. However, Hincapie and Co. conceded a second goal three minutes later - and that put an end to their tournament with third place on four points.
Iran with Werkself player Sardar Azmoun in the starting eleven also missed out on qualification for the Round of 16 in the crucial third match. One point against direct rivals USA would have been enough but a goal from Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) on 38 minutes saw the USA (five points) move above Iran (three points) in third place in Group B.
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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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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