The inaugural match for the Germany U23 team ended in victory under captain Kristin Kögel: Germany beat France 3-0 in a U23 international at the DFB Campus in Frankfurt. The skipper Kögel and Katharina Piljic played the full game. For the second friendly against the Italy U23 team, coach Kathrin Peter included another Leverkusen player in Julia Mickenhagen. The Germany U23 team drew 2-2 with Italy in Florence. Kögel did not play, Piljic (46’) and Mickenhagen (82’) came on as substitutes in the second half.
For Lilla Turanyi and Hungary, the quest for a place at the European Championship finals in Switzerland next summer is over. In the first round of the Euro qualifier play-offs, they lost 1-0 in Budapest and the return match in Edinburgh ended in a 4-0 defeat. Defender Turanyi played the full 90 minutes in both games.
The international break was a little more successful for Denmark with Cornelia Kramer in the squad. The striker did not play in Denmark's 5-0 win against South Africa but made an astonishing international debut in the friendly against the Netherlands in Esbjerg four days later: Kramer came off the bench on 85 minutes and scored her first international goal two minutes later. Unfortunately, the 21-year-old was unable to prevent Denmark losing 2-1.
Her Leverkusen teammate Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir clocked up the most air miles with Iceland in two friendlies against the USA. Iceland lost both games 3-1. The first match against the USA team in Austin saw Vilhjalmsdottir come on as a substitute on 85 minutes. The 23-year-old started in the second friendly in Nashville and gave Iceland the lead with a goal from a corner on 31 minutes.
Emilie Bragstad played one friendly with her national team. The defender was on the winning side with the Norway U23 team in a 3-0 victory against the Portugal U23s. Bragstad played the whole game in Melgaco in Portugal. The Germany U19 squad was also in Portugal for a DFB training camp with the two Bayer 04 Women Delice Boboy and Estrella Merino Gonzalez called up. The two Leverkusen forwards played from the start in a 2-1 defeat against Norway. In the second friendly against the Netherlands U19 side, the team coached by Michael Urbansky drew 2-2 after being 2-0 down. Merino Gonzalez and Boboy were again in the starting line-up.
Bayer 04 are through to the second round of the DFB Pokal after a 4-0 win at Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday night. The game was paused after only 18 minutes due to a storm over the ground. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and Patrik Schick opened the scoring. Arthur, Christian Kofane and Alejandro Grimaldo made things more comfortable in the second half, as the fourth-tier side had two players sent off.
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There were no goals across 115 minutes of football between Bayer 04 Women and PSV Eindhoven in Friday’s friendly. Roberto Pätzold’s team played two 45-minute periods before an extra 25 minutes two days prior to heading to Rieden for their training camp. Their Dutch opponents were preparing for their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier in 12 days.
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The first round of the DFB Pokal takes Bayer 04 to Sonnenhof Großaspach on Friday. The amateur club have just gained promotion to the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest and kicked off their campaign with two impressive wins. Here’s all you need to know as Erik ten Hag makes his competitive bow as Werkself boss at the WIRmachenDRUCK Arena (kick-off: 6pm CEST).
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After two months preparing for the new season, the Werkself play the first game of the 2025/26 campaign on Friday, 15 August (kick-off: 18:00 CEST) away to SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Ahead of the tie against the team newly promoted to the Regional League South West, head coach Erik ten Hag talked about his approach to the knockout game and his soft spot for cup competitions.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen has a new Premium Partner in its ranks in Düsseldorf company LumenHaus GmbH. The leading provider of networked home energy solutions has initially agreed a one-year partnership with the Bundesliga runners-up to the end of the 2025/26 season.
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