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.
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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