
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.


Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
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The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
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Bayer 04 have ended Artem Stepanov’s loan deal at Nürnberg and agreed a new loan to Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Ukrainian striker did not play as much as hoped for at the Bundesliga 2 club and will now continue his development in the Eredivisie for the rest of 2025/26.
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The draw for the knockout play-offs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was made on Friday, 30 January and saw Bayer 04 paired with Olympiacos. It’s a reunion with the Greek side following the Werkself’s 2-0 loss in Athens on Matchday 7 of the league phase.
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