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
Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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Three days after the spectacular comeback in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg (5–2), the Werkself face their next challenge in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart, currently 15th in the table, at the BayArena. Ahead of the match, Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about important factors in preparing for this next game given a tight fixture list.
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Despite VfB Stuttgart performing well in the Champions League, they are facing a difficult spell early on in the Bundesliga. Three days after their last-minute victory in the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, the Swabians can now take to the pitch at the BayArena with greater confidence on Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
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