The players who have travelled certainly have the quality required. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Buffon – they all landed with the rest of the squad at Cologne/Bonn Airport this afternoon. The German players Emre Can (not in Champions League) and Sami Khedira (injured) have stayed behind in Northern Italy. Also absent are Matthijs de Ligt, who has been rested, plus the injured Giorgio Chiellini, Aaron Ramsey, Douglas Costa as well as the former Bayern Munich player Mario Mandzukic who is ineligible.
Coach Sarri will only announce his line-up on the day of the match but the 60-year-old did make it clear at the pre-match press conference: “Of course, we have already qualified but I would still like to see a good performance from my team in this competition.” And midfield maestro Miralem Pjanic stressed at the press conference that the Juve players “have an absolute winning mentality and want to win every game.”
In response to questions about a possible fraught relationship between Sarri and the team, Pjanic had an answer ready. “We have full confidence in our new coach. After five years of Allegri (former coach Massimiliano Allegri, ed.) it’s clear not everything can work straightaway. You can’t expect perfection after five months of working together,” said the 29-year-old, who then talked about the opponents Bayer 04: “We’ve already played Leverkusen. They are a very strong team. They are at home and can still qualify – they will try everything. It won’t be easy for us.”
New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
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The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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