
Five Leverkusen players were involved in the last two international matches of the Germany U23 team. In the 3-1 loss against Portugal in Leiria, the first defeat for coach Michael Urbansky's team in the current international campaign, Katharina Piljic scored after just two minutes from 20 metres out - her first international goal. Despite the lead and clear superiority, Germany lost in the end. In addition to Piljic, Loreen Bender was also in the starting eleven. Selina Ostermeier, Julia Mickenhagen (both on 56 minutes) and Sofie Zdebel (65’) came on as substitutes. The sixth Werkself player, Estrella Merino Gonzalez, who was called up on standby for the senior national team for the first time, was on the bench and went home injured before the second game against France.
Four days later, Germany made up for the previous defeat by beating France 2-0 at the Stadion am Brentanobad in Frankfurt. This time Bender (up to 58 minutes) and Zdebel were in the starting line-up, with Ostermeier and Piljic coming on after 77 minutes. Mickenhagen was left out. The next two U23 international fixtures are against Norway and Belgium in March 2026.




A Werkself duo were in the Austria squad for two friendlies. Centre-back Claudia Wenger played 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw in Finland and was on the bench in the 3-2 defeat in Ukraine. The same applied to her team-mate Valentina Mädl in both games. The attacking player is therefore still waiting for her debut.
Amy Wrigge, who made her debut for the Germany U19s at the Wedau Sports School in Duisburg, had three games in the European Championship qualifiers. In Group A2, coach Melanie Behringer's team drew 2-2 with Belgium, with Wrigge coming off the bench on 70 minutes. She scored her first goal for the U19s at the second outing after coming on as a substitute at the break. The 17-year-old scored to make it 5-0 (47') in the 8-0 win against the overwhelmed Faroe Islands. It was Wrigge's tenth goal in 18 games for a junior Germany side. In the final clash, Germany lost 5-0 to Spain, with Wrigge coming on after 61 minutes. As a result, Germany finished second in their group and are now in the second round of qualifiers. Ida Daedelow was also called up for the U19s, but had to withdraw due to illness. Next year's European Championship finals are in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 27 June to 11 July.
In their two - ultimately unsuccessful - UEFA Women's Nations League final games against Spain (0-0, 0-3), Germany had to manage without Carlotta Wamser. The wing back, who played the full 90 minutes in both semi-final duels against France, is still sidelined due to injury.
The Bundesliga continues for the Bayer 04 Women on Saturday, 6 December (14:00 CET), with a home match against RB Leipzig at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. Tickets for the game are available HERE.

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 1-2 loss at VfL Wolfsburg on the 20th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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After full time in the 1-1 draw against FC Bayern Munich, the Bayer 04 fans first had to catch their breath. Firstly because of their usual loud support, and secondly because of the great drama they'd witnessed on the pitch: three disallowed goals, two red cards and a Werkself side who "again produced a very good performance against strong opponents", as head coach Kasper Hjulmand described. The Dane was particularly enthused by the performance of young Montrell Culbreath, while Patrik Schick got to enjoy his 200th appearance under the Cross. The Werkself Review unpacks the action.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-1 draw against FC Bayern Munich on Matchday 26 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Bayern Munich in an eventful Matchday 26 fixture in the Bundesliga. Aleix Garcia had given the Werkself the lead inside six minutes, but Bayern levelled in the second half through Luis Diaz, despite Nicolas Jackson having been send off before the break. Diaz was then dismissed himself as Leverkusen pushed for a winner, which failed to materialise as Jonas Hofmann saw a late goal ruled out.
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