DFB president Reinhard Grindel, Germany coach Joachim Löw and manager Oliver Bierhoff attended the event held at the Kremlin concert hall.
Back in Leverkusen, Bernd Leno, Julian Brandt, Benny Henrichs and Jonathan Tah took particular attention of Germany's opponents in the group stage. The Bayer 04 quartet are currently in the extended Germany squad heading for Russia to defend their title. Leno (6 international caps), Brandt (13) and Henrichs (3) played in the World Cup qualifiers. Tah (3) last played for his country in a 0-0 draw in a friendly against Italy in November 2016. Bayer 04 striker Kevin Volland must also have high hopes making it to the World Cup finals.
The first group match could see the Werkself pros meet up with a former team-mate in Chicharito. Germany kick off their title defence against Mexico on Sunday 17 June at the Luzhniki Park in Moscow. The second group game follows on 23 June with the Löw eleven taking on Sweden in Sochi before the final group encounter against South Korea in Kazan on 27 June. Former Werkself winger Heung-Min Son is sure to be in their squad.
Admir Mehmedi, Tin Jedvaj, Lucas Alario and Wendell are also in with a shout of playing at the World Cup. Mehmedi, who has won 56 caps for Switzerland to date, played for his country at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016. Switzerland are in Group E along with Brazil, who may have Bayer 04 defender Wendell in their squad . Up to now, he has made seven appearances for the Brazil U23s and he could see his dream of playing at the World Cup for the Selecao come true. The other two teams in the group are Costa Rica and Serbia.
Tin Jedvaj, who has eight caps for Croatia to date, and was at the European Championships in France, will do all he can to be in the squad going to Russia. He could face Leverkusen team-mate Lucas Alario as Croatia are also in Group D. Alario has made two full international appearances for the two-time World Cup winners. The other group opponents for Croatia and Argentina are Iceland and Nigeria.
32 teams are taking part in the World Cup in Russia in eight groups. The tournament starts on 14 June 2018 with the opening game between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia and ends on 15 July 2018. The final will be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
All the fixtures are available here: http://calovo.de/wm2018
A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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The men's clothing retailer LERROS will remain the official fashion and premium partner of Bayer 04 for the current season. As in the past, LERROS will provide the club's men's team, coaching staff and management with high-quality clothing for international trips.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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Bayer 04 produced a dominant and impressive 4-0 win over Union Berlin as they picked up three points in their first home game of the 2026/27 Bundesliga campaign. Exequiel Fernández opened the scoring after only 41 seconds, with Facundo Medina doubling the lead before the half-hour mark. Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza continued the procession in the second period, in which Moussa Diaby came on for his first Leverkusen appearance for over three years.
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