A quintet from Leverkusen completed a perfect U19 EURO qualifying campaign with Germany, with three wins in seven days ensuring the group victory and with it a place in the finals in Lithuania (15 to 27 July). Captain Paulina Bartz particularly impressed in the games against Romania (2-0), Hungary (6-0) and Sweden (4-1) with a goal in each.
Her teammate Delice Boboy scored the fourth goal against Hungary just two minutes after coming on, shortly before assisting the fifth. In the first match she played the second half, while against the Swedes she came on after 62 minutes. Anne Moll was in goal for all three games, Julia Mickenhagen featured at left-back (46 minutes against Romania, 61 against Hungary and 90 against Sweden) and striker Estrella Merino Gonzalez also started all three matches, playing until the 72nd minute against Romania, the 71st against Hungary and the full 90 against Sweden, during which she provided the assist for the fourth goal. A sixth Leverkusen player could be part of the squad in Lithuania in 18-year-old Loreen Bender, who missed qualifying through injury.
Nothing has been decided yet in the senior Women's EURO qualifying. On the first two matchdays, two Werkself teammates came up against each other in Group 4 of League A, with Iceland's Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir kicking off against Polish duo Sylwia Matysik and Nikola Karczewska. And it was Iceland who came out on top, winning 3-0 with Vilhjálmsdóttir providing the assist for the third goal in the 66th minute. Matysik played the full game while Karczewska entered the fray on 76 minutes. The Poles were also left empty-handed after Matchday 2: in a 3-1 defeat to Austria, Matysik was again on the pitch throughout and Karczewska stayed on the bench.
For Vilhjálmsdóttir, there was another internal battle just four days later as the midfielder came up against captain Elisa Senß in the Germany starting line-up in Aachen. Senß had been an unused substitute in the 3-2 win in Austria but played 77 minutes against Iceland as the DFB team won 3-1. Vilhjálmsdóttir played 90 minutes this time. Lilla Turányi and the Hungary team have one point on the board following a 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan and a 2-1 loss to Turkey. The Leverkusen centre-back played every minute.
Three other Werkself girls were involved in friendlies with their youth national teams. Sofie Zdebel was a 78th-minute substitute for Germany U20s in a 0-0 draw against USA but didn't feature in a 4-0 win over Canada. Julie Jorde and Emilie Bragstad were on their travels with Norway U23s. After the friendly against Netherlands was cancelled due to heavy snowfall, there was a 3-2 defeat to Sweden, in which the Bayer 04 duo started. Jorde, who came off after 89 minutes, provided the assist for the opening goal. It was the Norwegians' first defeat since autumn 2022.
With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
Show more
Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
Show more
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
Show more
A memorable 12 months: 2025 was a year marked by success, intense competition and groundbreaking innovations for the #B04eSports team. After ending the 2024/25 season as runners-up, the Leverkusen-based console pros got down to business in a new, completely restructured season model, in which showdowns rather than divisions were the decisive factor on the road to the final round of the German Club Championship. Bayer 04 quickly earned a place in the history books of the most prestigious competition in German eSports and secured some valuable advantages for the coming year. Bayer04.de takes a look back at 12 months full of passion and the determination to take the next step.
Show more
Sustainability once again had many faces at Bayer 04 in 2025: In community activity, the club supported countless regional campaigns, including the Leverkusener Tafel, the Frauenennotruf Leverkusen e.V. and the homeless aid organisation "Kältegang". But the Black and Reds have also been involved in good causes around the world - including the Young Coaches training programmes in Uganda and Ecuador plus the Genuine World Cup in the USA, where the Inclusion Werkself competed. Bayer 04 was also fully committed to the environment and underwent external and independently certification in accordance with the European environmental management standard EMAS, for example, to analyse and optimise the club’s environmental efforts. Looking back at sustainability in 2025.
Show more
