Bundesliga Daily Report - 2026-09-03

Schalke striker Edin Dzeko announced on Thursday that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Nations League match against Sweden on 2 October will be his final international appearance. The 40-year-old forward, who joined Schalke on a free transfer from Fiorentina in January, has scored 73 goals in 151 appearances for his country since debuting against Turkey in 2007. He has been Bosnia’s captain since 2014 and holds the national records for both goals and caps. The farewell will take place at Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, bringing a 19-year international career to a close.

Dzeko’s decision ends the international career of one of Bosnia’s defining sporting figures. In his social-media announcement, he wrote: “Now I feel the time has come to step aside,” while describing the pride of representing his country as unmatched by anything else in his career. His final match against Sweden will give supporters a home setting in which to recognise his contribution. For Schalke, the announcement also places their veteran forward’s Bundesliga return in a wider context, with his experience now entering its final international phase.

SV Elversberg made an immediate impact in their first Bundesliga match by beating former champions Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 last weekend. The promoted club raced into a 3-0 lead before resisting a Leverkusen comeback, with Texas-born winger Cole Campbell scoring after intercepting a pass. Campbell had become Elversberg’s record signing, while the match saw 10 players make their Bundesliga debuts for the small-town club. From a community of around 13,000 people and operating on a shoestring budget, Elversberg began their top-flight campaign with one of the opening round’s most notable results.

Coach Vincent Wagner said the performance reflected the courage required from a club competing with Germany’s established powers. Elversberg’s approach is built around intense defending and quick attacks, rather than attempting to match larger opponents financially. Wagner acknowledged that the season would be difficult and urged his players to continue playing bravely even after heavy defeats. Their next fixture is away to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, offering an early test of whether the Leverkusen victory can become the foundation of a credible survival campaign.

Borussia Dortmund’s strong start to the season was tempered by a serious injury to new signing Giannis Konstantelias. The midfielder suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his first Bundesliga appearance, which came during Dortmund’s 2-0 victory over Hamburger SV in the opening matchday. The setback was followed by a 5-0 DFB-Pokal win against HEBC on Tuesday, leaving Niko Kovac’s side with two victories and two clean sheets before their first league away fixture. Dortmund travel to Hoffenheim on Saturday, where they will attempt to maintain that early momentum without Konstantelias.

Konstantelias’ injury removes a recent arrival from Kovac’s options at a particularly early stage of the campaign. Dortmund also listed Emre Can as recovering from an ACL tear, while Nico Schlotterbeck was recovering from an ankle problem. Kovac said the visit to Sinsheim was important because teams needed to get moving quickly at the start of a season, adding that Dortmund were travelling to win. Hoffenheim began with a 3-2 defeat at Köln, despite leading twice, giving the fixture significance for both sides.

Arsenal included a recall option in Ethan Nwaneri’s season-long loan to Borussia Dortmund, according to a report by Fabrizio Romano cited by Yahoo Sports Canada. The 19-year-old midfielder completed the move on transfer deadline day after spending the second half of last season on loan at Marseille. The agreement is described as a straight loan without a mandatory purchase clause or an option for Dortmund to buy him. Nwaneri is seeking regular first-team football in Germany, while Arsenal have retained flexibility over his situation during the season.

The reported January recall clause gives Arsenal a mechanism to reassess their squad halfway through the campaign. The move came after departures including Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, which were reported to have raised concerns about attacking depth at the London club. Nwaneri said at his Dortmund unveiling that he was comfortable in any of the four attacking positions, provided he remained close to goal. His development in the Bundesliga will therefore be watched alongside Arsenal’s changing needs.

Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl said he was confident Harry Kane would remain at the club beyond his current contract, while stressing that discussions were still ongoing. Asked about negotiations, Eberl said: “Both sides want it, and then it will work out. I am confident.” The England captain has become central to Bayern’s attack since joining from Tottenham, and the club’s optimism reflects his importance to their plans. The comments indicated progress in tone, but did not amount to a completed extension.

Kane is coming off a prolific season in which he scored 61 goals in all competitions and 36 in 31 Bundesliga matches, according to the report. He helped Bayern secure a second consecutive German league title, strengthening his standing as one of the division’s most influential players. Eberl’s call for patience suggests the next stage will be shaped by continued negotiations rather than an immediate announcement. Any agreement would provide Bayern with greater certainty around the striker who leads their attacking structure.

Manuel Neuer will return to Schalke on Matchday 2 when Bayern Munich visit Gelsenkirchen, in what could be his final season as a goalkeeper. The 40-year-old began at Schalke aged five in 1991, progressed through the academy and made his senior debut during the second matchday of the 2006-07 season. He subsequently established himself as one of world football’s leading goalkeepers before moving on, making Saturday’s fixture a significant personal occasion. Neuer’s return also comes as Schalke begin their first Bundesliga campaign after three years in the second tier.

The official Bundesliga website described Neuer as one of Germany’s most decorated players. Alongside Thomas Müller, he holds the joint record of 13 Bundesliga titles and shares the DFB Cup record of seven victories with Bastian Schweinsteiger. He has also won two Champions League trophies and a World Cup. Schalke’s reunion with their former academy goalkeeper adds a strong emotional thread to an early-season fixture, while Bayern’s visit tests the promoted club against the reigning champions in their return to the top flight.