Ecuador have been incredibly consistent in the current World Cup qualifiers: The team has now been unbeaten in the last four World Cup qualifying matches. In the early stages of the game against Brazil it looked unlikely that Piero Hincapie and Co. would earn a point. Ecuador first went a goal down after six minutes and one of the Leverkusen player’s teammates was shown a red card on the quarter-hour mark.
Brazil then had a player sent off for two yellow card offences a few minutes later to equal out the numbers. The hosts refused to give up – and they hit back. Felix Torres, who plays for Santos Laguna in Mexico, levelled the scores at 1-1 on 75 minutes. Hincapie played the full game.
That means Ecuador remain in third place after 15 of 18 games. With nine points to play for and a lead of seven points to the play-off spot, it appears the fourth qualification for the World Cup finals is on the cards. That could be sealed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday with a win against Peru.
Charles Aránguiz was also involved in a World Cup qualifier. Chile, with the Werkself midfielder playing the full 90 minutes like Hincapie, entertained second-placed Argentina overnight. Aránguiz and Co. also went behind early on. They levelled in the middle of the first half but the Albiceleste took the lead again at 2-1 before half-time and that scoreline remained to the end.
As the seventh-placed team in the South American qualifying group, Chile are not certain of qualifying. The gap to the play-off position of fifth is one point with them having played a game more. The second and final match of the current international break for Aránguiz and Co. is on Tuesday 1 February. In the game against closest rivals Bolivia – one point behind Chile having played a game less – a victory is a must.
Following last weekend’s big game against Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 Women face another exciting challenge as they visit Hoffenheim to kick off Matchday 3 in the Google Pixel Bundesliga on Friday (kick-off: 18:30 CEST).
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Under the slogan ‘Holidays without War’, 60 children from war-torn Ukraine took part in the summer camp organised by the German-Ukrainian association Blau-Gelbes Kreuz in Leverkusen and the surrounding area in August. The children aged between 10 and 14 – many of whom have lost their parents in the war – come from the Ukrainian twin towns of Leverkusen, Cologne and Monheim am Rhein: Nikopol, Dnipro and Volodymyr. Bayer 04, Bayer AG and TSV Bayer 04 supported the camp to mark its 10th anniversary, enabling even more children and young people than in previous years to spend a few carefree days’ holiday away from the war in the Rhineland.
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Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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Bayer 04 have loaned Brazilian full-back Arthur to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for one year. Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares – the full name of the right-back – has a contract with Leverkusen until 30 June 2031. At Werder, the 23-year-old is expected to make an impact and help the long-established club further consolidate their position in the Bundesliga.
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