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.
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
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Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
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After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
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"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
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