Germany with Wamser and Austria with Wenger made completely different starts to qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil (24 June to 25 July 2027). While Germany topped Group A4 after two impressive victories against Slovenia (5-0) and Norway (4-0), Austria lost 1-0 to both Norway and Slovenia.
That is one of the reasons why there are clear favourites in the head-to-head games. First, Germany coach Christian Wück's team host their neighbours in Nuremberg on Tuesday, 14 April. Then, four days later on Saturday, 18 April, Wamser and Co. are away in Ried, Upper Austria. As with the last training camp, midfielder Katharina Piljic is on standby for Germany as is forward Valentina Mädl for Austria.
Meanwhile, Cornelia Kramer returns to the Denmark squad. The Scandinavians collected four points from their first two matches without the striker. Now fully fit after muscular problems, the 23-year-old, who has five international caps so far, is back in the squad for the games against Sweden and Italy.
As in March, when the Germany U23s team missed out on a place in the final four of the international tournament, Bayer 04 once again form the largest group in coach Michael Urbansky's team: Loreen Bender, Selina Ostermeier, Piljic and Sofie Zdebel return and Estrella Merino Gonzalez, who was recently absent due to injury, is also back. Julia Mickenhagen, who was called up to replace her team-mate last time out, is on standby again. The same applies to goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe. In the qualifiers in Spain, the U23s first play Belgium on Sunday 12 April and then either Italy or Portugal on Thursday 16 April.
Sana Coskun from the Leverkusen U23s in the Regionalliga West is also on international duty. The 17-year-old, who made her first three Bundesliga appearances this season, is taking part in a qualifying tournament with Turkey in Albania for this year's U19 European Championships (27 June to 10 July in Bosnia). The team will face Liechtenstein, Albania and Montenegro.
International call-ups:
Cornelia Kramer (Denmark)
Tuesday, 14/04: Sweden vs Denmark (World Cup qualifier)
Saturday, 18/04: Denmark vs Italy (World Cup qualifier)
Carlotta Wamser (Germany)
Tuesday, 14/04: Germany vs Austria (World Cup qualifier)
Saturday, 18/04: Austria vs Germany (World Cup qualifier)
Claudia Wenger (Austria)
Tuesday, 14/04: Germany vs Austria (World Cup qualifier)
Saturday, 18/04: Austria vs Germany (World Cup qualifier)
Estrella Merino Gonzalez, Katharina Piljic, Loreen Bender, Selina Ostermeier and Sofie Zdebel (Germany U23s)
Sunday, 12/04: Germany vs Belgium (international qualifying round)
Thursday, 16/04: Italy/Portugal vs Germany (international qualifying round)
Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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