Piero Hincapie and Ecuador beat hosts Qatar 2-0 in the opening match in the World Cup. Ecuador's star striker Enner Valencia netted a brace (16', 31') for the South Americans on Sunday night with a goal from the 33-year-old on three minutes ruled out due to an offside decision. Hincapie played the full 90 minutes and he helped his team keep a clean sheet.
The next game for Ecuador in Group A is against the Netherlands with Bayer 04 player Jeremie Frimpong (25 November, 17.00 CET). The final group match against Senegal is four days later with the kick-off at 16.00 CET.
Jeremie Frimpong and the Netherlands also picked up three points at the start of the World Cup. The Oranje won the opening match against Senegal 2-0. Cody Gakpo on 84 minutes and Davy Klaassen nine minutes into added time scored the late goals.
In the clash of the two winners on matchday one in Group A, as already mentioned, on 25 November at 17.00 CET the Dutch team play Ecuador with Piero Hincapie. The Netherlands then play hosts Qatar four days later with a 16.00 CET kick-off.
Sardar Azmoun was another Leverkusen player to start the World Cup on Monday. The striker with Iran was on the wrong end of a 6-2 scoreline against England. Azmoun, who has been out of action since the end of September due to a muscle injury, came off the bench on 77 minutes with England 5-1 up and he hit the bar eight minutes into added time.
Azmoun and Co. play Wales in their next match on 25 November with the kick-off at 11.00 CET, and Iran finish their group matches against the USA (29 November, 20.00 CET).
Exequiel Palacios, with Argentina, is the fourth Bayer 04 player to start the World Cup tournament. The Albiceleste played Saudi Arabia in their opening match in Group C – and they suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat against the underdogs. Lionel Messi gave Argentina the lead from the penalty spot on ten minutes but Saudi Arabia turned the game round after the restart with a double whammy (48', 53'). Werkself player Palacios did not play in this game.
Argentina next play Mexico on 26 November at 20.00 CET with the third and final group match against Poland (20.00 CET) following four days later.
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without striker Christian Kofane in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old sustained a muscle injury to his left thigh on international duty with the Cameroon national team during the recent international break. This will prevent him from playing in the upcoming Werkself matches.
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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Fans ask, Carolin Simon answers: As part of Bayer 04’s second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, the Leverkusen captain took questions from the community. The full-back, who returned to the club this summer after ten years away, set aside an hour and a half for the Q&A session with fans, offering a very personal insight into, amongst other things, her daily life as a footballer and her role as captain, as well as her passion for Pokémon.
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