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.
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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