The home game for Austria, with the Leverkusen defensive stalwart Aleksandar Dragovic playing the full 90 minutes, started with a surprising setback for the team under coach Franco Foda: Sonni Nattestad put the Faroe Islands, ranked 107th in the world, in the lead on 19 minutes. Dragovic equalised on the half-hour mark – and then Austria got going.
The Bundesliga players Christoph Baumgartner (30’/TSG Hoffenheim) and Sasa Kalajdzic (44’/VfB Stuttgart) scored the other goals to give Austria a 3-1 lead at half-time. The scoreline remained the same at the final whistle at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. That was the first win for Drago and Co. following the 2-2 draw against Scotland.
Germany followed up on their 3-0 opening victory against Iceland. The team led by coach Joachim Löw beat Romania 1-0 in Bucharest. The only goal of the game was scored by Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry with former Leverkusen player Kai Havertz providing the assist (17'). As in the match against Iceland, the Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz did not play.
The Germany U21 team played their second group match in the European Championship on Saturday night. The team led by coach Stefan Kuntz drew 1-1 with Holland in Székesfehérvár in Hungary. After a first half without any clear-cut chances, the Dutch took the lead on 48 minutes through Justin Kluivert. The opening goal from the RB Leipzig player stemmed from a mistake by the Germany keeper Finn Dahmen (FSV Mainz 05). Lukas Nmecha of RSC Anderlecht levelled the scores late on (84').
The Bayer 04 keeper Lennart Grill was again on the bench as in the 3-0 victory against Hungary. Romania are the opponents for Germany in the final group match game in the European Championship on Tuesday, 30 March (kick-off: 18.00 CEST). The Kuntz team are currently top of Group A on four points level with Romania. A draw will be enough for Germany to progress to the knockout stages to be played from 31 May to 6 June. This involves the first and second placed teams from the four groups.
The new week starts from a Black and Red perspective on Monday night, 29 March (kick-off: 18.00 CEST) with a match involving Edmond Tapsoba. The Werkself central defender and Burkina Faso play South Sudan in Group B of the Africa Cup qualifiers. Tapsoba's team have already qualified for the finals of the competition with a goalless draw in Uganda.
Patrik Schick is set to play for Czechia a day later in a World Cup qualifier in Wales (kick-off: 20.45 CEST) a few hours after the U21 group match for Germany against Romania. To end the first international break of the year, the Germany senior team with Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz plus Austria with Aleksandar Dragovic are in line to play on Wednesday, 31 March. The kick-off of the two World Cup qualifiers is at 20.45 CEST. The remaining internationals involving Werkself players:
Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz (Germany):
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Duisburg): Germany v North Macedonia (World Cup qualifier, Group J)
Lennart Grill (Germany U21):
Tuesday, 30 March (18.00 CEST, Budapest): Germany U21 v Romania U21 (Euros, group stage)
Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria):
Wednesday, 31 March (20.45 CEST, Vienna): Austria v Denmark (World Cup qualifier, Group F)
Patrik Schick (Czechia):
Tuesday, 30 March (20.45 CEST, Cardiff): Wales v Czechia (World Cup qualifier, Group)
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso):
Monday, 29 March (18.00 CET, Ouagadougou): Burkina Faso v South Sudan (Africa Cup qualifier, Group B)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 midfielder Jonah Berghoff ahead of schedule. The Germany U18 international has signed professional terms with the club to 30 June 2030.
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With sixth place at the end of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign, Bayer 04 ended a season in the top third of the table for the ninth time in a row. While the Werkself were narrowly eliminated in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by eventual finalists Arsenal, the Black and Reds reached the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for the third season in succession. As in previous years, you once again have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is exclusively for Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app up to and including 11 June.
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With 46 points in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga, the Bayer 04 Women’s team once again broke the previous season's club record and ended up in fifth place - 15 wins is also a record. As in previous years, you now have the opportunity to vote for your Player of the Season. Voting is open exclusively to Bayer 04 Club members and only via the Bayer 04 app by 11 June.
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The guests at the Scala Club in Leverkusen were amazed when host Reiner Calmund suddenly brought the Managing Director of Sport at Bayer 04, Simon Rolfes, and record Werkself appearance maker Rüdiger Vollborn onto the stage. As part of the show "An Evening with Football & Friends", organised by long-serving Bayer 04 managing director and general manager Calmund, the two surprise guests drew plenty of applause - and provided great entertainment in exciting conversations about the past and future.
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