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.
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
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After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
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SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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