First round DFB Cup
Munich has to go to Münster, RB to Wiesbaden
Arminia Bielefeld against VfL Bochum was still a Bundesliga game about a year ago. In the first round of the DFB Cup, it will be a match between league 3 and league 1.
© Imago Images
Eintracht Braunschweig against Schalke 04, Arminia Bielefeld against VfL Bochum, Rot-Weiss Essen against HSV: glorious pairings for football nostalgics. In 2023 that means: 3rd division versus Bundesliga or: the draw for the first round of the DFB Cup.
Record winner FC Bayern Munich has to compete in the first round of the DFB Cup with third-division promoted Preußen Münster. That was the result of the draw on Sunday. Cup defender RB Leipzig is a guest at the start of the new cup season at second division promoted SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Vice-champion Borussia Dortmund has to deal with regional league newcomer Schott Mainz.
Pole vaulter Sarah Vogel also drew other interesting encounters. So Eintracht Frankfurt is required at 1. FC Lok Leipzig from the fourth division. Regional league club Astoria Walldorf welcomes Champions League participants 1. FC Union Berlin and former European Cup finalist Carl Zeiss Jena has home advantage against Hertha BSC, who have been relegated to the Bundesliga.
Bayern – Münster: record champions in the regional league champions
Bayern failed in the quarter-finals at SC Freiburg last season. Now the team of coach Thomas Tuchel is challenged by the champions of the Regionalliga West.
The first round of the cup will be played from August 11th to 14th. Because the DFL Supercup between RB Leipzig and FC Bayern is being held at the same time, the encounters between the cup winner and the champion will only take place on 26/27. held in September.
In addition to the 36 professional clubs from the national leagues, the four top teams from last season’s third division also qualify for the DFB Cup. Since SC Freiburg II is not eligible, Saarbrücken moves up as fifth in the third division. There are also the 21 state cup winners and one team each from Bavaria, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. These are the regional associations of the German Football Association with the most members.
DFB Cup final on May 25th
Since the cup finalists Elversberg and Saarbrücken have already qualified in the 3rd division in Saarland, FC Homburg, who won a decider and are now expecting the Bundesliga promoted team from Darmstadt, are moving up.
The second main round will follow at the end of October, the round of sixteen at the beginning of December and the other rounds next year. The finale will take place on May 25, 2024 in Berlin.