FC Augsburg Haberleri

Switzerland’s 3-0 win against Israel has strengthened their position at the top of their Euro 2024 qualifying group. FCA’s Ruben Vargas volleyed home the opening goal in the 39th minute and went on to play 74 minutes in Geneva. 

Beljo, who scored his first competitive goal for Augsburg in the 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen, is up against FC Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt and FC Schalke’s Henning Matriciani after the three players accumulated the most points of all league “rookies” in the DFL’s Fantasy Manager game.

Germany hosted an international friendly against Peru in Mainz, and for just the fifth time ever, an FCA player was named in the squad. Mergim Berisha’s recent performances in the Bundesliga (8 goals, 4 assists) mean he has more than warranted the call-up. His big moment came in the 75th minute when the attacker came on to replace Niclas Füllkrug, and he would go on to play centre-forward for the final quarter of an hour. Germany prevailed comfortable 2-0 winners and have a further friendly against Belgium coming up on Tuesday, 28th March.

Ten FCA first team players in total are away on international duty at the moment and were not available to Enrico Maaßen and his coaching staff. Apart from the national players, Elvis Rexhbecaj, Maximilian Bauer and Julian Baumgartlinger were also absent due to injury, and Niklas Dorsch returned to the pitch. The 25-year-old midfielder missed the last Bundesliga game against FC Schalke 04 (1-1) due to illness.

There was a shock for the Augsburg players after just 30 seconds, when Emmanuel Latte Lath was through one-on-one against Tomas Koubek, but he failed to beat the Czech goalkeeper. A little later, FCA had their first chance, when a cross from Aaron Zehnter surprisingly hit the St. Gallen crossbar. The first goal of the game, however, was scored by the visitors from Switzerland. Christian Witzig converted a cross from the right-hand side into the left corner to make it 1-0 (8’). In the 24th minute, FCSG extended their lead, after Randy Schneider was able to dribble on the edge of the penalty area and finish into the top right corner.

There was controversy shortly after when Noah Sarenren Bazee fell in the penalty area after contact with an opponent, but the referee’s whistle remained silent. FCA took control of the game in the following period, with the Swiss Super League side waiting for a counter attack. In the 32nd minute, Augsburg were lucky when Leon Dajaku faltered in front of goal after a good move. The Fuggerstädter then reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 37th minute through Irvin Cardona. Maßen’s side kept the pressure on and had several chances to equalise through Kelvin Yeboah (39’/44’) and Nathanaël Mbuku (41’). Just before the break, Sarenren Bazee headed in a corner to equalise (45’).

Dates and times confirmed for final matchdays of the season Final home game vs. BVB on...

FC Augsburg will be without Ermedin Demirović for three league matches because of “serious foul play”. The Bosnia-Herzegovina international was shown a red card by referee Daniel Schlager in the 1-1 draw against FC Schalke 04 after accidentally catching his opponent in the face with a high boot.

Among them is Mergim Berisha, who could become just the fourth Augsburg player to make his debut for the Germany national team. Germany head coach Hansi Flick has called up the 24-year-old for two friendlies against Peru (Saturday, 25th March) and Belgium (Tuesday, 28th March). Maximilian Bauer will also be pulling on a Germany shirt. He has been called up by the Germany U21s for friendlies against Japan (Friday, 24th March) and Romania (Tuesday, 28th March).

FCA coach Enrico Maaßen made three changes to the team that lost 5-3 at FC Bayern last time out. Ruben Vargas, Iago and Elvis Rexhbecaj all came into the side after coming off the bench and impressing in Munich.

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw: “I think we would have won the game if both teams had ended with 11 men. It was a really intense match and we knew what to expect. Schalke are right in the middle of a relegation battle and we didn’t want them to drag us into it today. Both teams struggled to create chances and the red card, which was an accidental challenge, was decisive. A point is a point and we’ll take it. It’s kept a big gap between us and Schalke.”

Berisha, who has scored eight goals and recorded four assists in the Bundesliga this season, follows in the footsteps of Uli Biesinger, Helmut Haller and current teammates André Hahn and Felix Uduokhai to become the fifth FC Augsburg player to be called up to the Germany national team. Former FCA man and current Frankfurt player Philipp Max was named in the squad shortly after leaving the club to join PSV Eindhoven.