Rudelic played for Croatia against Switzerland on Friday with the encounter ending in a 1-1 draw. The striker scored the opening goal on three minutes. That also happened in the meeting with Romania last Tuesday when Rudelic put Croatia 1-0 up on nine minutes. The Romanians did turn the game round and went on to win 4-1. With the announcement of a positive coronavirus test for one of her teammates, the Bayer 04 player immediately went into a five-day period of self-isolation as a precaution. The 28-year-old will not be available for Sunday’s Bundesliga match away to Turbine Potsdam (14.00 CEST).
Hungary, with Henrietta Csiszár, Lilla Turanyi and Dóra Zellerall in the starting eleven, were on the wrong end of a disappointing 8-0 defeat to Sweden in the first game in the international break. Csiszár was substituted on 57 minutes, Turanyi was shown a yellow card. The performance against Latvia was appreciably better; the Werkself players had a big part in a 5-0 victory: Zeller scored the opener on nine minutes and doubled the lead on 26. Turanyi made it 4-0 (54') and scored the second of her brace for the 5-0 scoreline in added time. Csiszár came off the bench against Latvia on 63 minutes.
Also in Group F, Iceland followed the example of the Hungarians against Latvia with a runaway 9-0 victory. Sandra Maria Jessen watched proceedings from the bench. Jessen also missed out in the 1-1 draw with Sweden.
Sylwia Matysik twice played for Poland against the Czech Republic: The first game ended goalless in the return match in a 2-0 defeat. The Pole played the full 90 minutes in the first match and 76 minutes in the second.
Austria secured a comfortable 5-0 victory against Kazakhstan – Viktoria Pinther came off the bench for a brief four-minute appearance late on.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have appointed Carles Martínez Novell as the new head coach. The 42-year-old Spaniard worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. Martínez finished last term in ninth place with the club from the south of France. He will take over the Werkself on 1 July 2026 and has signed a contract to 30 June 2028. Martínez, whose contract with Toulouse expires at the end of the month, succeeds Kasper Hjulmand at Leverkusen, who is leaving the club after one season.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Carles Martínez Novell. Bayer 04 have appointed the 42-year-old Spaniard as the new head coach on a contract to 2028. Martínez most recently worked for FC Toulouse in the French Ligue 1 until the end of the season. He previously spent four years at Barcelona's legendary academy La Masia in his home city. Bayer04.de introduces Martínez in more detail.
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Bayer 04 plans for the 2026/27 pre-season continue to take shape. The Werkself will kick off the new season in mid-July with the return to the training ground. The highlight will be the official season opener on 8 August at the BayArena, including a friendly against La Liga club Sevilla. Friendlies in Germany will take the team to neighbouring Monheim, Offenbach and Jena.
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Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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