The final World Cup qualifier in the era of Joachim Löw ended in an unexpected defeat for Germany. The German team found it hard going against a well-organised opposition, but Leon Goretzka (9') and Serge Gnabry (31') missed good chances. North Macedonia kept pressing and took the lead just before half-time (45+2') through Goran Pandev (Genoa).
Germany equalised just after the hour mark with captain Ilkay Gündogan converting a penalty but they were unable to turn the game round – on the contrary: After substitute Timo Werner missed a great chance for Germany (80'), the North Macedonian striker Eljif Elmas (Napoli) rounded off an impressive attack by the underdogs to make it 2-1 to ensure a sensational result (85'). Germany are now third in Group J. As in the previous two games the two Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz did not play against North Macedonia.
The next match for Germany is the opening game in the European Championship in the summer. Germany play World Cup winners France in Munich on 15 June.
After scoring in the 3-1 win against the Faroe Islands, all did not go to plan for Aleksandar Dragovic in the international against Denmark. The Werkself defender did play the full 90 minutes in his 89th international but he was on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline with Austria against Denmark. Denmark scored all four goals in the second half through Andreas Skov Olsen (58', 73'), Joakim Maehle (63') and the former Bundesliga player Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg (67').
Lennart Grill has reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship with the Germany U21 team. The goalless draw against Romania in the final match of the group stage was enough for Germany on Tuesday to qualify for the knockout rounds as runners-up behind the Netherlands with the finals to be played from 31 May to 6 June. The team under coach Stefan Kuntz will play Denmark in the quarter-final on 31 May after the Scandinavians surprisingly ended up top of their group ahead of France. As in the first two group matches, Grill was on the bench against Romania.
The end of the international break did not end well for Patrik Schick either. The Werkself striker with the Czech national team lost 1-0 in Wales on Tuesday. Schick, who was unable to play in the 1-1 draw with Belgium at the weekend due to Czechia being classified as a "virus variant area", was in the starting line-up but was shown a red card at the start of the second half (48). Wales, who also finished with ten players after Connor Roberts was sent off (77'), won the game late on with a goal from Manchester United striker Daniel James (81').
On Monday, Edmond Tapsoba with the Burkina Faso national team won the final group match in the African Cup qualifiers with a 1-0 victory over South Sudan. The Werkself defender played the full 90 minutes with the winner scored by Bertrand Traoré of Aston Villa on 50 minutes. Burkina Faso finished top of their qualifying group unbeaten and will be in the finals in Cameroon next January and February.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed 16-year-old midfield prospect Gabriel Minutillo on a long-term contract. The Germany youth international will play for the U19s this season.
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Bayer 04 preparations for the 2026/27 season are in full swing, with the first friendly now under their belts. Although there are still around seven weeks to go until the first Bundesliga home game in early September, there is already huge anticipation for the start of competitive action for head coach Carles Martínez’s team at the BayArena. For the Bundesliga home matches of the new season, here is the latest information regarding the first phase of single-match ticket sales. The tried-and-tested early-bird phase remains in place. From 23 to 31 July, tickets for matches will go on sale on weekdays; the early-bird phase ends on 5 August at the latest – provided tickets are still available by then.
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Like last year, Bayer 04 Women held their summer training camp in Rieden. Coach Roberto Pätzold gives his assessment of the time in the Upper Palatinate, discusses the integration of the 11 new players and the unusual team building measures, gives his thoughts on the friendly and looks ahead to the start of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga season in August.
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Just in time for the start of the summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Werkself will hold another open training session on Tuesday 21 July. The session at the BayArena is scheduled to start at 11:00 CEST and will again be available to watch in a live stream. The fans who are there can look forward to a very special surprise.
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Bayer 04 Women rounded off their one-week training camp in the Upper Palatinate with their second friendly win of pre-season. Coach Roberto Pätzold's side beat Czech top-flight outfit Slovan Liberec 6-0 in a match consisting of 4 x 30 minutes. Maja Sternad (8'), Caroline Kehrer (55'), Natasha Kowalski (67', 84') with two direct free kicks, Valentina Mädl (97') and Justine Brandau (107') scored the goals for Leverkusen at 1.FC Rieden's Fenstertechnik-Weinfurtner-Arena.
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