Lara Marti and her Swiss teammates had the chance to qualify for the European Championship finals in England in 2022 with the two legs against Czechia on 9 and 13 April. Switzerland – Marti came on as a sub on 65 minutes – drew 1-1 with the Czechs in the first leg.
The return match was even more exciting with a scoreline of 1-1 after 90 minutes. The game went into extra time and, after 30 minutes without a goal, to penalties with Switzerland winning 3-2 to secure their place at the European Championship finals. Marti again came on as a substitute in the second leg (87') but had to go off on 104 minutes due to the 21-year-old suffering a knock in extra time.
Henrietta Csiszár, Dóra Zeller and Lilla Turányi made their way to Hungary. A ten-day training camp enabled the team to get to know their new national coach. The former Germany international and Germany assistant coach Margret Kratz took over the post with Hungary last month. The training camp ended with a friendly on Tuesday afternoon, 13 April, against Bosnia-Herzegovina – the game ended in a goalless draw. Turányi played up to the 68th minute, Csiszár and Zeller did not feature.
Mina Tanaka made two appearances for the national team. She played for Japan in two friendlies against Paraguay (8 April) and Panama (11 April) – with Japan winning both games 7-0. The Bayer 04 striker came off the bench against Paraguay on 67 minutes and scored the final goal in added time. The 26-year-old came on for the final eleven minutes against Panama.
In glorious sunshine and temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius, the Bayer 04 Women have begun their preparations for the new season. With a relaxed first session at the Kurtekotten training centre, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team became the first Bundesliga side to resume training after a 37-day break.
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Black and Red stand out. Under the slogan ‘Diversity under the Cross’, Bayer 04 took part in Pride on the Rhine at the weekend alongside the queer fan club “Bayer 04 Junxx”. The club mascot, Brian the Lion, and several members of staff were also in attendance, championing diversity and solidarity.
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Centre-back Melissa Friedrich is set to remain at Bayer 04 for another year. The longest-serving player in the squad, who joined the club in 2016, has extended her contract to 2027.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Portugal U21 international Afonso Moreira. The 21-year-old winger joins the club from French top-flight side Olympique Lyon on a contract to 30 June 2031. In France last year, the left-winger made 37 appearances in Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Europa League, scoring a total of eight goals and providing eleven assists.
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