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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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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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