Filip Milojevic was involved in EURO qualifying with Austria U19s against Kosovo (0-1), Slovenia (2-0) and Spain (1-2). The Leverkusen defender was an ever-present in all three matches but couldn't help his side to qualify for this summer's tournament.
Noah Pesch and Croatia U19s, meanwhile, took on Germany (2-1), Turkey (1-2) and Romania (0-1) in their group. Pesch also played every minute as the Croatian youngsters missed out on participation in the finals.
Arjanit Fazlija and Kosovo U19s came up against Milojevic's Austria (1-0), Spain (1-2) and Slovenia (0-2). Fazlija came off the bench in all three games having recently recovered from injury.
Switzerland had a place at the EURO in the bag after the first two qualifiers. Fit-again Isaiah Okafor didn't feature in the 1-0 win over Latvia but played the duration of the 2-0 victory against North Macedonia. However, in the third game against Ukraine, in which Okafar was substituted off in the 54th minute, the Nati youngsters lost 3-0 and also failed to qualify.
The German U17 side were involved in European qualifying, too. Coach Michael Prus included Leverkusen trio Naba Mensah, Montrell Culbreath and Francis Onyeka for the fixtures in Portugal. Onyeka played 90 minutes in the 3-3 draw against Croatia and put in an impressive display, setting up one goal and scoring the final one from a penalty. Culbreath entered the fray just after the hour mark and earned the aforementioned penalty, while Mensah watched from the bench.
That draw was followed by a 2-0 win over Republic of Ireland. Onyeka, who came off in added time, again set up one goal and scored another. Culbreath was on the pitch until the 65th minute, being replaced by Mensah.
Then a place in this summer's EURO was on the line in the match against Portugal - and the German U17s missed out after a 3-2 defeat to the hosts and Croatia's comfortable win over Ireland in the other game. Onyeka, who headed against the bar with the score at 1-1, played 84 minutes. Culbreath and Mensah also started and went off in the closing stages.
In the same competition, Kerim Alajbegovic with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Marton Szep with Hungary were battling for a place at the EURO - and they too failed to progress. Alajbegovic played every minute against Poland (1-4), Czech Republic (0-2) and Belarus (3-1), scoring a brace in the latter. Szep and Hungary, meanwhile, lost to France (1-2), England (0-5) and Northern Ireland (1-3). Having not featured in the first game, Szep went the distance against England and came off after around an hour against Northern Ireland.
Artem Stepanov and Ukraine U17s will be at this summer's finals in Cyprus, though, after coming out on top against Greece, Switzerland Slovakia in their qualifying group by an aggregate score of 8-0.
The DFB's U16 age group played two games against Italy in Pirmasens. In the first encounter, which Germany won 3-0, centre-back Ben Hawighorst impressed as captain, while Jeremiah Mensah was a second-half substitute. The second clash ended in an even more emphatic 5-0 victory. Hawighorst played the full match again and Mensah's work was done after an hour.
SAB-P GmbH is to become Bayer 04 Leverkusen's first official inclusion partner. The company, which has previously been involved in the club's Business Club, is underlining its social commitment to inclusion with an agreement that runs until 31 May 2027. Among other things, it will be the shirt sponsor of the Inclusion Team from the 2026/27 season onwards.
Show more
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 3-1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 20 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
Show more
Kasper Hjulmand has led the Werkself back to winning ways and is back in the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League with Bayer 04 after the 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. In an interview with the Werkself magazine at the BayArena in the team meeting room, directly opposite the dressing room, he provided some special insights for the current issue, which was published in January. A conversation with the 53-year-old coach about values, attitudes and personal experiences as well as interests outside of football.
Show more
The thrilling 3-1 win for Bayer 04 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hinrunde is a fond memory for Alejandro Grimaldo, with his brace from free kicks, and coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was in the dugout under the Cross for the first time. Now comes the return fixture in the metropolis on the River Main and after going out of the DFB Pokal and the Champions League, the full focus at Eintracht, currently managed by two interim coaches, is now on the Bundesliga. For their part, the Werkself will do everything in their power to continue the longest winning run against a Bundesliga club. The matchday news.
Show more
