
After two defeats in succession, Chile got back on track in the race to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with Bayer 04 midfielder Charles Aránguiz in the side. La Roja beat closest rivals Bolivia 3-2. The matchwinner was Inter Milan's Alexis Sánchez with a brace. Aránguiz was substituted on 67 minutes.
Chile are now sixth in the South American qualifying group with a two-point gap to the play-off place of fifth and three to fourth spot, which would qualify them directly for the World Cup. The last two crucial matches will be played at the end of March. Aránguiz and Co. will face the already qualified Brazil, currently top of the group, as well as fourth-placed Uruguay.
The situation for Ecuador is much more relaxed: The team including Werkself player Piero Hincapie secured a 1-1 draw in Peru overnight and the Leverkusen defender again went the full distance. The result means they are still in third place and, with two games to go, they are four points above the play-off spot of fifth.
At the end of March, Hincapie and Co. play Paraguay, who have no chance of qualifying for the World Cup, as well as already qualified Argentina.

In their third friendly of this pre-season, Bayer 04 played on home soil for the first time – and won there too! The Werkself claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. Jeanuel Belocian (9’) and Nathan Tella (42’) gave a dominant Leverkusen a 2-0 lead at the break, which Afonso Moreira (51’) and Christian Kofane (53’) doubled after the break. Among the many second-half substitutions was Patrik Schick, who made his first friendly appearance of the summer.
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The Werkself are finally back. On Saturday 8 August, Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign with their opening match. But there’s far more than just a double-header in store for Werkself supporters. True to the motto ‘One day. Two teams. One club’, the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium will be transformed into a world of excitement.
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The Werkself continue their 2026/27 pre-season preparations with their third friendly against Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion on Wednesday 29 July (kick-off 15:00 CEST). Werkself-TV is broadcasting the match live and in full in a stream from 14:50 CEST...

After the children from the Bayer 04 Football Academy grilled Janis Blaswich and Simeon Rapsch last week, another group of 20 young Werkself fans gathered at the BayArena press conference room on Tuesday afternoon, 28 July . This time, the kids directed their questions at Tim Oermann and Jonah Berghoff. Defender Oermann raved about his school days, whilst talented midfielder Berghoff revealed to the young footballers, amongst other things, who his favourite player is – and he is also at Bayer 04. To round things off, the pair naturally obliged with all requests for autographs and selfies.
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Bayer 04 are back on the pitch. Following the first training sessions, the Werkself play the first pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 18. The match against Oberliga club Sportfreunde Baumberg kicks off at 15:30 CEST in Monheim am Rhein. Fans unable to attend the match can watch head coach Carles Martínez’s first game in charge for free via a livestream at bayer04.de and on the Bayer 04 app, as well as on Werkself.tv (exclusively for members). Just log on and watch the games live. All the other Werkself preseason friendlies leading up to the 2026/27 season will also be streamed live for free.
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