DFB Pokal: All the Information You Need To Know About Germany’s Prestigious Cup Competition

• RB Leipzig won their first DFB-Pokal cup when they beat SC Freiburg 4-2 on penalties earlier this year
• The DFB-Pokal features 64 teams from German football and is equivalent to the FA Cup in England
• Bayern Munich hold the record for the most number of DFB-Pokal tournaments won, at a massive 20

Competitive football returns this week in Germany as the DFB-Pokal gets underway.

The tournament, which generally begins in August every year, will kick off the first-round games on July 29, with the last fixture in the first round taking place on August 31.

What is the DFB-Pokal?

The DFB-Pokal (or German Cup) is the second most prestigious tournament in German football, with the Bundesliga being the top prize. The tournament is equivalent to England’s FA Cup.

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As noted by Wikipedia, 64 teams compete for the trophy, with 36 of these teams coming from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 (2. Bundesliga). The top four finishers of Bundesliga 3 (3. Liga) also gain entry into the tournament, with 21 entries coming from the cup winners of regional football associations.

The three remaining slots are then filled by the three regional associations with the most men's teams. The associations may assign the slot as they wish. The only exception is that no reserve teams are allowed to enter.

Who has won the most DFB-Pokal tournaments?

It’s no surprise that Bayern Munich have won the cup the most times. The German giants have won the tournament a record 20 times since its exception.

Who are the current holders of the DFB-Pokal?

RB Leipzig are the current champions and beat SC Freiburg 4-2 on penalties to lift their maiden trophy.

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Does the winner of the DFB-Pokal qualify for other tournaments?

The winner of this prestigious German cup gains entry into the Europa League tournament. If the DFB-Pokal winner or both teams in the final have already qualified for European competition, the best-placed team in the Bundesliga, that has not qualified for at least the Europa League, will get the spot.

The winner also contests the season opener, the DFL SuperCup against the winner of the Bundesliga.

What are this year’s DFB-Pokal fixtures?

The Bundesliga website has officially released the list of fixtures for the first round which begins on July 29. RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich only play their respective games at the end of August, as they will contest the DFL SuperCup on July 30.

The fixtures for the first round are:

29 July:

Kaan-Marienborn vs. Nuremberg

Dynamo Dresden vs. VfB Stuttgart

TSG Neustrelitz vs. Karlsruhe

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1860 Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund

30 July:

Viktoria Berlin vs. Bochum

Straelen vs. St. Pauli

Einheit Wernigerode vs. Paderborn

Bayreuth vs. Hamburg

FV Illertissen vs. Heidenheim

SV Elversberg vs. Bayer Leverkusen

VfB Lübeck vs. Hansa Rostock

Jahn Regensburg vs. Cologne

Carl Zeiss Jena vs. Wolfsburg

Kickers Offenbach vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf

Stuttgarter Kickers vs. Greuther Fürth

31 July:

Bremer SV vs. Schalke

BSC Schwarz-Weiß Rehden vs. Sandhausen

Schott Mainz vs. Hannover

SV Rödinghausen vs. Hoffenheim

Kaiserslautern vs. Freiburg

BW Lohne vs. Augsburg

Oberachern vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach

Engers vs. Arminia Bielefeld

Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Hertha Berlin

SV Waldhof vs. Holstein Kiel

Erzgebirge Aue vs. Mainz

1 August:

Energie Cottbus vs. Werder Bremen

Chemnitzer FC vs. Union Berlin

Ingolstadt vs. Darmstadt

Magdeburg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

30 August:

Teutonia Ottensen vs. RB Leipzig

31 August:

Viktoria Cologne vs. Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich Suffer Heaviest 5-0 Loss As They Are Knocked Out of DFB-Pokal

Bayern Munich were handed a 5-0 thrashing in a DFB-Pokal clash by impressive Borussia Monchengladbach, who were ruthless against the Bavarians, Mirror reports.

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The result was Bayern's heaviest loss since 2019 when they were heavily beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt in an outcome that saw Niko Kovac sacked as manager.

Remarkably, the manager of the opposition team that day, Adi Hutter, was the mastermind behind Gladbach's victory on Wednesday night, October 27.