Michael Urbansky, recently assistant coach for the Germany Women's team under Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, is in charge of the Germany U19 Women's team as head coach for the first time in the two international fixtures against the Netherlands on 24 February (kick-off: 19.00 CET) and against Italy on 27 February (kick-off: 16.00 CET). He follows Kathrin Peter, who is now in charge of the Germany U20 Women. In his squad of 22 players, there are six from the Bundesliga squad of the Bayer 04 Women in goalkeeper Anne Moll plus the outfield players Paulina Bartz, Loreen Bender, Delice Boboy, Estrella Merino Gonzalez and Julia Mickenhagen. The two friendlies for the U19s, which are part of preparations for the crucial European Championship qualifying round of the start of April, will be played in La Nucia in Spain. In addition to the sextet, Sofie Zdebel is also away with the Germany youth set-up: The midfielder was called up by Peter for the 24-player squad for the international trip to Spain. Germany first play the hosts in Alicante on 22 February (kick-off: 18.00 CET) and then they face Mexico in Benidorm on 25 February (kick-off: 18.00 CET).
"This large number of players called up makes us proud and is an indication of our work and, at the same time, also an expression of our club philosophy," said Achim Feifel, sporting director of the Bayer 04 Women: "We want to give young and talented players the chance to develop and step up to the Bundesliga. But, at the same time, it's also a special challenge for us because it is important to offer these players more and more time on the pitch."
The Leverkusen eSports team played the remaining three of the six matches in the online preliminary round of the fourth showdown in the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg were among the teams with the highest goal threat, including two World Cup participants in their ranks. Although the #B04eSports players were defeated in the matches overall, nine points from the first three games last week were enough for Leverkusen to advance to the offline round in Berlin on 2 February.
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A decisive showdown awaits: The Werkself are aiming to progress to the play-off round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League with a home win against Villarreal CF on the eighth and final matchday of the league phase. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the game, the possible return of Edmond Tapsoba and a statement from new signing Jonas Omlin in an exclusive interview with Werkself TV. Lucas Vázquez, for his part, spoke about his role on and off the pitch as well as tomorrow’s opponents, who he often faced in Spain with Real Madrid.
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For Villarreal CF, the match at Bayer 04 on Wednesday, 28 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), will be their last appearance on the European stage this season. The Spanish side, currently fourth in La Liga, are still without a win in the UEFA Champions League and, with just one point from their seven games so far, have no chance of making the play-offs. The 2021 Europa League winners can therefore play without any pressure at the BayArena and will be looking to bow out of the competition with a good performance. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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