The two other group matches for Germany are against Portugal on Thursday (19.30 CET) and Austria on Sunday (19.30 CET). The teams in Group B are Croatia, Holland, England and France with the top two teams in each group going through to the semi-finals.
Hopes are high that Germany will perform well at the Euros on their own turf. “The Euros at home are a big target and a dream for the team,” declared Germany coach Guido Streichsbier who dropped five players from the provisional 23-man squad at the end of the training camp in Schladming to achieve the final 18-man squad. “I’m optimistic we will able to achieve our targets,” said Streichsbier, “we want to go all the way.” The minimum target is fifth place as the top five teams at the Euros will qualify for next year’s Under-20 World Cup.
The captain is one of the most experienced players in the team: Benjamin Henrichs has already clocked up nine Bundesliga appearances for Bayer 04 including five starts last season. The Hoffenheim striker Philipp Ochs (13 games) and Mainz midfielder Suat Serdar (twelve) have also played in the top flight. Defender Lukas Boeder is waiting for his first outing in Germany’s first division but he has been on the Werkself bench for a number of games.
Attraction of home stage
While Henrichs is a full back for Bayer 04 he plays in midfield for Germany. Along with Boeder. he and his Germany team-mates are very ambitious. “We’re in a tough group but that was to be expected given the quality of the teams involved. There’s huge pressure when you play a tournament in your own country but the stage provides a great incentive to perform well,” said Benny Henrichs. There will be no shortage of support at the matches. The opening game against Italy on Monday, the match against Portugal in Großaspach on 14 July and the final in Sinsheim on 24 July are already sold out.
24. Juli ins Sinsheim sind bereits ausverkauft.
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
Show moreThere were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
Show moreThe first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
Show moreAfter two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
Show moreBayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
Show more