2023–24 DFB-Pokal

The 2023–24 DFB-Pokal was the 81st season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 11 August 2023 with the first of six rounds and ended on 25 May 2024 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 1985.^[1] The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the German Football Association (DFB).

2023–24 DFB-Pokal

Tournament details
Country	Germany
Venue(s)	Olympiastadion, Berlin
Dates	11 August 2023 – 25 May 2024
Teams	64
Final positions
Champions	Bayer Leverkusen (2nd title)
Runner-up	1. FC Kaiserslautern
Tournament statistics
Matches played	63
Goals scored	303 (4.81 per match)
Attendance	1,368,503 (21,722 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Amine Adli (5 goals)
← 2022–23 2024–25 → Goals scored in penalty shoot-outs are not included.

The two-time defending champions were Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, after they had defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 in the previous final,^[2] but they were eliminated in the second round by VfL Wolfsburg. Bayer Leverkusen won their second title after defeating 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1–0 in the final.^[3]

The winner of the DFB-Pokal would normally have earned automatic qualification for the league phase of the 2024–25 edition of the UEFA Europa League. However, Leverkusen had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League as winners of the Bundesliga, so their spot went to the team in sixth place, while the league's UEFA Conference League play-off round spot went to the seventh-placed team. Leverkusen also qualified for the 2024 edition of the DFL-Supercup at the start of the next season, where they faced the runners-up of the 2023–24 Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart.

Participating clubs

The following teams qualified for the competition:

Bundesliga the 18 clubs of the 2022–23 season	2. Bundesliga the 18 clubs of the 2022–23 season	3. Liga the top 4 clubs of the 2022–23 season
FC Augsburg Hertha BSC Union Berlin VfL Bochum Werder Bremen Borussia Dortmund Eintracht Frankfurt SC Freiburg TSG Hoffenheim 1. FC Köln RB Leipzig Bayer Leverkusen Mainz 05 Borussia Mönchengladbach Bayern Munich Schalke 04 VfB Stuttgart VfL Wolfsburg	Arminia Bielefeld Eintracht Braunschweig Darmstadt 98 Fortuna Düsseldorf Greuther Fürth Hamburger SV Hannover 96 1. FC Heidenheim 1. FC Kaiserslautern Karlsruher SC Holstein Kiel 1. FC Magdeburg 1. FC Nürnberg SC Paderborn Jahn Regensburg Hansa Rostock SV Sandhausen FC St. Pauli	SV Elversberg VfL Osnabrück Wehen Wiesbaden 1. FC Saarbrücken[note 1]
Representatives of the regional associations 24 representatives of 21 regional associations of the DFB, qualified (in general) through the 2022–23 Verbandspokal[note 2]
Baden Astoria Walldorf Bavaria[note 3] FV Illertissen (CW) SpVgg Unterhaching (RB) Berlin Makkabi Berlin Brandenburg Energie Cottbus Bremen FC Oberneuland Hamburg Teutonia Ottensen Hesse FSV Frankfurt	Lower Rhine Rot-Weiss Essen Lower Saxony[note 4] Atlas Delmenhorst (3L/RL)[note 5] TuS Bersenbrück (Am.) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Rostocker FC Middle Rhine Viktoria Köln Rhineland Rot-Weiß Koblenz Saarland FC 08 Homburg[note 6] Saxony Lokomotive Leipzig	Saxony-Anhalt Hallescher FC Schleswig-Holstein VfB Lübeck South Baden SV Oberachern Southwest Schott Mainz Thuringia Carl Zeiss Jena Westphalia[note 7] FC Gütersloh (CW) Preußen Münster (RW) Württemberg TSG Balingen

Format

Participation

The DFB-Pokal began with a round of 64 teams. The 36 teams of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, along with the top four finishers of the 3. Liga automatically qualified for the tournament. Of the remaining slots, 21 were given to the cup winners of the regional football associations, the Verbandspokal. The three remaining slots were given to the three regional associations with the most men's teams, which were Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Westphalia. The best-placed amateur team of the Regionalliga Bayern was given the spot for Bavaria. For Lower Saxony, the Lower Saxony Cup was split into two paths: one for 3. Liga and Regionalliga Nord teams, and the other for amateur teams. The winners of each path qualified. For Westphalia, the spot was rotated each season between the best-placed Westphalian team of the Regionalliga West and the best-placed amateur team of the Oberliga Westfalen. For the 2023–24 DFB-Pokal, this spot was awarded to a team from the Regionalliga. As every team was entitled to participate in local tournaments which qualified for the association cups, every team could in principle compete in the DFB-Pokal. Reserve teams and combined football sections were not permitted to enter, along with no two teams of the same association or corporation.^[7]

Draw

The draws for the different rounds were conducted as follows:^[7]

For the first round, the participating teams were split into two pots of 32 teams each. The first pot contained all teams which qualified through their regional cup competitions, the best four teams of the 3. Liga, and the bottom four teams of the 2. Bundesliga. Every team from this pot was drawn to a team from the second pot, which contained all remaining professional teams (all the teams of the Bundesliga and the remaining fourteen 2. Bundesliga teams). The teams from the first pot were set as the home team in the process.

The two-pot scenario was also applied for the second round, with the remaining 3. Liga and/or amateur team(s) in the first pot and the remaining Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga teams in the other pot. Once again, the 3. Liga and/or amateur team(s) served as hosts. This time the pots did not have to be of equal size though, depending on the results of the first round. Theoretically, it was even possible that there could be only one pot, if all of the teams from one of the pots from the first round beat all the others in the second pot. Once one pot was empty, the remaining pairings were drawn from the other pot with the first-drawn team for a match serving as hosts.

For the remaining rounds, the draw was conducted from just one pot. Any remaining 3. Liga and/or amateur team(s) were the home team if drawn against a professional team. In every other case, the first-drawn team served as hosts.

Match rules

Teams met in one game per round. Matches took place for 90 minutes, with two halves of 45 minutes each. If still tied after regulation, 30 minutes of extra time was played, consisting of two periods of 15 minutes each. If the score was still level after this, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. A coin toss decided who took the first penalty.^[7][8] A maximum of nine players could be listed on the substitute bench, while a maximum of five substitutions were allowed. However, each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.^[9] From the round of 16 onward, a video assistant referee was appointed for all DFB-Pokal matches. Though technically possible, VAR was not used for home matches of Bundesliga clubs prior to the round of 16 in order to provide a uniform approach to all matches.^[10]

Suspensions

If a player received five yellow cards in the competition, he was suspended from the next cup match. Similarly, receiving a second yellow card suspended a player from the next cup match. If a player received a direct red card, they were suspended a minimum of one match, but the German Football Association reserved the right to increase the suspension.^[7]

International qualification

The winners of the DFB-Pokal earned automatic qualification for the league phase of next season's edition of the UEFA Europa League. If they had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League through position in the Bundesliga, then the spot went to the team in sixth place, and the league's UEFA Conference League play-off round spot to the team in seventh place. The winners also hosted the DFL-Supercup at the start of the next season, and faced the champions of the previous year's Bundesliga, unless the same team won the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal, completing a double. In that case, the runners-up of the Bundesliga took the spot instead.

Schedule

The Olympiastadion in Berlin hosted the final.

All draws were generally held on a Sunday evening after each round (unless noted otherwise).^[11]

The rounds of the 2023–24 competition were scheduled as follows:^[1]

Round	Draw date	Matches
First round	18 June 2023[12]	11–14 August & 26–27 September 2023
Second round	1 October 2023	31 October – 1 November 2023
Round of 16	5 November 2023	5–6 December 2023
Quarter-finals	10 December 2023	30–31 January & 6–7 February 2024
Semi-finals	11 February 2024	2–3 April 2024
Final		25 May 2024 at Olympiastadion, Berlin

Matches

A total of sixty-three matches took place, starting with the first round on 11 August 2023 and culminating with the final on 25 May 2024 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Times up to 28 October 2023 and from 31 March 2024 are CEST (UTC+2). Times from 29 October 2023 to 30 March 2024 are CET (UTC+1).

First round

The draw for the first round was held on 18 June 2023, with Sarah Vogel drawing the matches.^[11][13][14] Thirty of the thirty-two matches took place from 11 to 14 August 2023. The remaining two matches, involving the participants of the 2023 DFL-Supercup (played on 12 August), took place from 26 to 27 September 2023.^[1]

SV Sandhausen v Hannover 96

11 August 2023 (2023-08-11)	SV Sandhausen	3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)	Hannover 96	Sandhausen
18:00	Hennings 45+3' (pen.) Arrey-Mbi 77' (o.g.) Knipping 86'	Report	Schaub 27' Halstenberg 42' Teuchert 82'	Stadium: GP Stadion am Hardtwald Attendance: 4,605 Referee: Deniz Aytekin
	Penalties
	Diekmeier Mühling Maciejewski El-Zein		Besuschkow Tresoldi Halstenberg Ernst

1. FC Saarbrücken v Karlsruher SC

11 August 2023 (2023-08-11)	1. FC Saarbrücken	2–1	Karlsruher SC	Saarbrücken
18:00	Civeja 47' Brünker 90'	Report	Stindl 65'	Stadium: Ludwigsparkstadion Attendance: 14,284 Referee: Arne Aarnink

TuS Bersenbrück v Borussia Mönchengladbach

11 August 2023 (2023-08-11)	TuS Bersenbrück	0–7	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Osnabrück[note 8]
18:00		Report	Honorat 21', 56' Ngoumou 26' Čvančara 32', 34' Hack 77' Ranos 89'	Stadium: Stadion an der Bremer Brücke Attendance: 16,098 Referee: Alexander Sather

Eintracht Braunschweig v Schalke 04

11 August 2023 (2023-08-11)	Eintracht Braunschweig	1–3	Schalke 04	Braunschweig
20:45	Ujah 12'	Report	Karaman 19' Seguin 42' Latza 90+4'	Stadium: Eintracht-Stadion Attendance: 21,800 Referee: Patrick Ittrich

TSG Balingen v VfB Stuttgart

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	TSG Balingen	0–4	VfB Stuttgart	Reutlingen[note 9]
13:00		Report	Millot 25' Silas 34' Guirassy 43' Endō 55'	Stadium: Stadion an der Kreuzeiche Attendance: 13,400 Referee: Robert Kampka

Carl Zeiss Jena v Hertha BSC

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	Carl Zeiss Jena	0–5	Hertha BSC	Jena
13:00		Report	Dardai 6' Tabaković 47' Richter 49', 52' Uremović 59' Hennings 45+3' (pen.)	Stadium: Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Florian Heft

Atlas Delmenhorst v FC St. Pauli

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	Atlas Delmenhorst	0–5	FC St. Pauli	Delmenhorst
15:30		Report	Smith 24' Schobert 59' (o.g.) Saad 68' Hartel 70' (pen.) Afolayan 88'	Stadium: Städtisches Stadion an der Düsternortstraße Attendance: 4,999 Referee: Patrick Schwengers

FC Oberneuland v 1. FC Nürnberg

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	FC Oberneuland	1–9	1. FC Nürnberg	Bremen
15:30	Lambers 89'	Report	Uzun 10', 14', 67' Hayashi 15' Gürleyen 19' Duman 25', 29' (pen.) Goller 71' Daferner 90'	Stadium: Marko Mock Arena Attendance: 2,187 Referee: Lukas Benen

Schott Mainz v Borussia Dortmund

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	Schott Mainz	1–6	Borussia Dortmund	Mainz[note 10]
15:30	Gans 34'	Report	Haller 22', 35' Brandt 24' Sabitzer 57' Malen 79' Moukoko 85'	Stadium: Mewa Arena Attendance: 30,312 Referee: Benjamin Brand

Viktoria Köln v Werder Bremen

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	Viktoria Köln	3–2	Werder Bremen	Cologne
15:30	Philipp 72', 79' Bogićević 90+4'	Report	Ducksch 43' Füllkrug 77' (pen.)	Stadium: Sportpark Höhenberg Attendance: 8,343 Referee: Frank Willenborg

Teutonia Ottensen v Bayer Leverkusen

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	Teutonia Ottensen	0–8	Bayer Leverkusen	Hamburg[note 11]
15:30		Report	Tapsoba 16' Boniface 42' Wirtz 45+1' Adli 59' (pen.) Frimpong 67' Hložek 74', 89' Hofmann 81'	Stadium: Millerntor-Stadion Attendance: 11,035 Referee: Tom Bauer

FC Gütersloh v Holstein Kiel

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	FC Gütersloh	0–2	Holstein Kiel	Gütersloh
15:30		Report	Friðjónsson 72', 90+3'	Stadium: Heidewaldstadion Attendance: 5,259 Referee: Patrick Kessel

Hallescher FC v Greuther Fürth

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	Hallescher FC	0–1	Greuther Fürth	Halle
18:00		Report	Sieb 18'	Stadium: Leuna Chemie Stadion Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Florian Exner

SV Elversberg v Mainz 05

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	SV Elversberg	0–1	Mainz 05	Spiesen-Elversberg
18:00		Report	Ajorque 73' (pen.)	Stadium: Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Martin Petersen

Arminia Bielefeld v VfL Bochum

12 August 2023 (2023-08-12)	Arminia Bielefeld	2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–1 p)	VfL Bochum	Bielefeld
18:00	Shipnoski 25' Biankadi 29'	Report	Asano 45+2' Zoller 90+1'	Stadium: Schüco-Arena Attendance: 21,452 Referee: Sven Jablonski
	Penalties
	Klos Gohlke Boujellab Mizuta		Hofmann Stöger Mašović

Rostocker FC v 1. FC Heidenheim

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	Rostocker FC	0–8	1. FC Heidenheim	Rostock[note 12]
13:00		Report	Beck 9' Kleindienst 12', 15' Maloney 18' Pieringer 38', 72' Dinkçi 53' Schimmer 87'	Stadium: Ostseestadion Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Nicolas Winter

Rot-Weiss Essen v Hamburger SV

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	Rot-Weiss Essen	3–4 (a.e.t.)	Hamburger SV	Essen
13:00	Müsel 42' Doumbouya 56' Brumme 83'	Report	Jatta 37', 54' Glatzel 66' Bénes 117'	Stadium: Stadion an der Hafenstraße Attendance: 18,600 Referee: Felix Zwayer

FV Illertissen v Fortuna Düsseldorf

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	FV Illertissen	1–3	Fortuna Düsseldorf	Illertissen
15:30	Frisorger 41'	Report	Frisorger 3' (o.g.) Vermeij 27' Tzolis 90+1'	Stadium: Vöhlinstadion Attendance: 3,719 Referee: Lars Erbst

Makkabi Berlin v VfL Wolfsburg

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	Makkabi Berlin	0–6	VfL Wolfsburg	Berlin
15:30		Report	Nmecha 8' Wind 9' Tomás 53', 89' Gerhardt 57' Baku 79'	Stadium: Mommsenstadion Attendance: 4,800 Referee: Riem Hussein

Rot-Weiß Koblenz v 1. FC Kaiserslautern

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	Rot-Weiß Koblenz	0–5	1. FC Kaiserslautern	Koblenz
15:30		Report	Boyd 19', 90' Niehues 35' Tomiak 43' Redondo 66' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadion Oberwerth Attendance: 10,176 Referee: Sascha Stegemann

SpVgg Unterhaching v FC Augsburg

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	SpVgg Unterhaching	2–0	FC Augsburg	Unterhaching
15:30	Fetsch 29' Mashigo 90+4'	Report		Stadium: Sportpark Unterhaching Attendance: 12,500 Referee: Timo Gerach

Lokomotive Leipzig v Eintracht Frankfurt

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	Lokomotive Leipzig	0–7	Eintracht Frankfurt	Leipzig
15:30		Report	Kolo Muani 37' Götze 58' Marmoush 66' Dina Ebimbe 71', 89' Ngankam 74', 85'	Stadium: Bruno-Plache-Stadion Attendance: 11,100 Referee: Michael Bacher

SV Oberachern v SC Freiburg

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	SV Oberachern	0–2	SC Freiburg	Freiburg[note 13]
15:30		Report	Günter 60' Sallai 77'	Stadium: Dreisamstadion Attendance: 24,500 Referee: Richard Hempel

Energie Cottbus v SC Paderborn

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	Energie Cottbus	0–7	SC Paderborn	Cottbus
18:00		Report	Pelivan 4' (pen.) Musliu 11' Bilbija 20', 51' Muslija 64' Klaas 83' Hansen 85'	Stadium: Stadion der Freundschaft Attendance: 12,469 Referee: Robert Schröder

Astoria Walldorf v Union Berlin

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	Astoria Walldorf	0–4	Union Berlin	Walldorf
18:00		Report	Knoche 29' (pen.) Becker 38' Leite 41' Haberer 80'	Stadium: Dietmar-Hopp-Sportpark Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Wolfgang Haslberger

FSV Frankfurt v Hansa Rostock

13 August 2023 (2023-08-13)	FSV Frankfurt	1–1 (a.e.t.) (0–3 p)	Hansa Rostock	Frankfurt
18:00	McLemore 29'	Report	Güler 83'	Stadium: PSD Bank Arena Attendance: 7,374 Referee: Christian Dingert
	Penalties
	Azaouagh Falaye Emmerling		Bachmann Rossipal Güler

FC 08 Homburg v Darmstadt 98

14 August 2023 (2023-08-14)	FC 08 Homburg	3–0	Darmstadt 98	Homburg
18:00	Mendler 10' Heilig 49' Harres 81'	Report		Stadium: Waldstadion Homburg Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Daniel Schlager

Jahn Regensburg v 1. FC Magdeburg

14 August 2023 (2023-08-14)	Jahn Regensburg	1–2	1. FC Magdeburg	Regensburg
18:00	Kother 63'	Report	Schuler 16' Hugonet 59'	Stadium: Jahnstadion Regensburg Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Patrick Alt

VfB Lübeck v TSG Hoffenheim

14 August 2023 (2023-08-14)	VfB Lübeck	1–4	TSG Hoffenheim	Lübeck
18:00	Gözüsirin 34' (pen.)	Report	Kramarić 42', 60' (pen.) Bülter 69' Justvan 76'	Stadium: Stadion an der Lohmühle Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Florian Lechner

VfL Osnabrück v 1. FC Köln

14 August 2023 (2023-08-14)	VfL Osnabrück	1–3 (a.e.t.)	1. FC Köln	Osnabrück
20:45	Makridis 73'	Report	Schmitz 43' Adamyan 93' Chabot 96'	Stadium: Stadion an der Bremer Brücke Attendance: 15,741 Referee: Florian Badstübner

Preußen Münster v Bayern Munich

26 September 2023 (2023-09-26)	Preußen Münster	0–4	Bayern Munich	Münster
20:45		Report	Choupo-Moting 9' Laimer 40' Krätzig 45+5' Tel 86'	Stadium: Preußenstadion Attendance: 12,794 Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck

Wehen Wiesbaden v RB Leipzig

27 September 2023 (2023-09-27)	Wehen Wiesbaden	2–3	RB Leipzig	Wiesbaden
20:45	Prtajin 41', 73'	Report	Forsberg 7' Šeško 18', 70'	Stadium: BRITA-Arena Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Robert Hartmann

Second round

The draw for the second round was held on 1 October 2023, with Shkodran Mustafi drawing the matches.^[11][21][22] The sixteen matches took place on 31 October and 1 November 2023.^[1]

FC 08 Homburg v Greuther Fürth

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	FC 08 Homburg	2–1	Greuther Fürth	Homburg
18:00	Eisele 31' Harres 83'	Report	Hrgota 52'	Stadium: Waldstadion Homburg Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Florian Lechner

FC St. Pauli v Schalke 04

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	FC St. Pauli	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Schalke 04	Hamburg
18:00	Hartel 57' (pen.) Eggestein 102'	Report	Kamiński 16'	Stadium: Millerntor-Stadion Attendance: 29,546 Referee: Bastian Dankert

VfB Stuttgart v Union Berlin

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	VfB Stuttgart	1–0	Union Berlin	Stuttgart
18:00	Undav 45'	Report		Stadium: MHPArena Attendance: 54,000 Referee: Sascha Stegemann

VfL Wolfsburg v RB Leipzig

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	VfL Wolfsburg	1–0	RB Leipzig	Wolfsburg
18:00	Černý 14'	Report		Stadium: Volkswagen Arena Attendance: 16,031 Referee: Florian Badstübner

Arminia Bielefeld v Hamburger SV

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	Arminia Bielefeld	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Hamburger SV	Bielefeld
20:45	Shipnoski 11'	Report	Jatta 77'	Stadium: Schüco-Arena Attendance: 26,500 Referee: Robert Kampka
	Penalties
	Klos Gohlke Mizuta Großer Wörl		Bénes Muheim Glatzel Krahn Heyer

SpVgg Unterhaching v Fortuna Düsseldorf

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	SpVgg Unterhaching	3–6 (a.e.t.)	Fortuna Düsseldorf	Unterhaching
20:45	Hobsch 34', 55' Skarlatidis 71'	Report	Klaus 65' Jóhannesson 67', 79', 107' Tzolis 115' Jastrzembski 117'	Stadium: Sportpark Unterhaching Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Alexander Sather

Borussia Mönchengladbach v 1. FC Heidenheim

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	Borussia Mönchengladbach	3–1	1. FC Heidenheim	Mönchengladbach
20:45	Pefok 3', 9' Hack 44'	Report	Beck 78'	Stadium: Borussia-Park Attendance: 41,660 Referee: Timo Gerach

1. FC Kaiserslautern v 1. FC Köln

31 October 2023 (2023-10-31)	1. FC Kaiserslautern	3–2	1. FC Köln	Kaiserslautern
20:45	Tachie 19' Redondo 47' Ritter 65'	Report	Thielmann 71' Uth 81'	Stadium: Fritz-Walter-Stadion Attendance: 49,327 Referee: Sven Jablonski

SV Sandhausen v Bayer Leverkusen

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	SV Sandhausen	2–5	Bayer Leverkusen	Sandhausen
18:00	Ehlich 50' Ben Balla 57'	Report	Palacios 21' (pen.) Tah 54' Hložek 85' Adli 88', 90+2'	Stadium: GP Stadion am Hardtwald Attendance: 10,022 Referee: Richard Hempel

Holstein Kiel v 1. FC Magdeburg

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	Holstein Kiel	3–3 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	1. FC Magdeburg	Kiel
18:00	Heber 61' (o.g.) Piccini 68' (o.g.) Pichler 120+2'	Report	Bockhorn 3' Krempicki 11' Amaechi 93'	Stadium: Holstein-Stadion Attendance: 11,112 Referee: Tom Bauer
	Penalties
	Machino Simakala Kleine-Bekel Rothe Holtby		Condé Amaechi Bockhorn Gnaka Arslan

SC Freiburg v SC Paderborn

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	SC Freiburg	1–3	SC Paderborn	Freiburg
18:00	Eggestein 69'	Report	Bilbija 4', 56' Muslija 33'	Stadium: Europa-Park Stadion Attendance: 31,500 Referee: Christian Dingert

Borussia Dortmund v TSG Hoffenheim

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	Borussia Dortmund	1–0	TSG Hoffenheim	Dortmund
18:00	Reus 43'	Report		Stadium: Signal Iduna Park Attendance: 81,365 Referee: Harm Osmers

Viktoria Köln v Eintracht Frankfurt

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	Viktoria Köln	0–2	Eintracht Frankfurt	Cologne
20:45		Report	Skhiri 14' Knauff 90'	Stadium: Sportpark Höhenberg Attendance: 8,343 Referee: Max Burda

1. FC Saarbrücken v Bayern Munich

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	1. FC Saarbrücken	2–1	Bayern Munich	Saarbrücken
20:45	Sontheimer 45+1' Gaus 90+6'	Report	Müller 16'	Stadium: Ludwigsparkstadion Attendance: 16,003 Referee: Frank Willenborg

1. FC Nürnberg v Hansa Rostock

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	1. FC Nürnberg	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Hansa Rostock	Nuremberg
20:45	Okunuki 63' Lohkemper 90+5', 99'	Report	Brumado 58' Kinsombi 74'	Stadium: Max-Morlock-Stadion Attendance: 28,489 Referee: Arne Aarnink

Hertha BSC v Mainz 05

1 November 2023 (2023-11-01)	Hertha BSC	3–0	Mainz 05	Berlin
20:45	Reese 45+3' (pen.) Tabaković 50' (pen.), 61'	Report		Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 29,621 Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 5 November 2023, with Denise Schindler drawing the matches.^[11][23][24] The eight matches took place on 5 and 6 December 2023.^[1]

1. FC Kaiserslautern v 1. FC Nürnberg

5 December 2023 (2023-12-05)	1. FC Kaiserslautern	2–0	1. FC Nürnberg	Kaiserslautern
18:00	Tachie 75' Ache 78'	Report		Stadium: Fritz-Walter-Stadion Attendance: 48,349 Referee: Patrick Ittrich

1. FC Magdeburg v Fortuna Düsseldorf

5 December 2023 (2023-12-05)	1. FC Magdeburg	1–2	Fortuna Düsseldorf	Magdeburg
18:00	Atik 15'	Report	Niemiec 87', 90+2'	Stadium: MDCC-Arena Attendance: 20,090 Referee: Robert Hartmann

Borussia Mönchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg

5 December 2023 (2023-12-05)	Borussia Mönchengladbach	1–0 (a.e.t.)	VfL Wolfsburg	Mönchengladbach
20:45	Koné 120'	Report		Stadium: Borussia-Park Attendance: 39,827 Referee: Bastian Dankert

FC 08 Homburg v FC St. Pauli

5 December 2023 (2023-12-05)	FC 08 Homburg	1–4	FC St. Pauli	Homburg
20:45	Mendler 28'	Report	Wahl 24' Saad 64' Hartel 69' Eggestein 73'	Stadium: Waldstadion Homburg Attendance: 12,232 Referee: Martin Petersen

1. FC Saarbrücken v Eintracht Frankfurt

6 December 2023 (2023-12-06)	1. FC Saarbrücken	2–0	Eintracht Frankfurt	Saarbrücken
18:00	Brünker 64' Kerber 78'	Report		Stadium: Ludwigsparkstadion Attendance: 15,905 Referee: Daniel Siebert

Bayer Leverkusen v SC Paderborn

6 December 2023 (2023-12-06)	Bayer Leverkusen	3–1	SC Paderborn	Leverkusen
18:00	Boniface 12' Palacios 28' Schick 87'	Report	Klaas 83'	Stadium: BayArena Attendance: 29,249 Referee: Tobias Stieler

VfB Stuttgart v Borussia Dortmund

6 December 2023 (2023-12-06)	VfB Stuttgart	2–0	Borussia Dortmund	Stuttgart
20:45	Guirassy 55' Silas 77'	Report		Stadium: MHPArena Attendance: 54,500 Referee: Benjamin Brand

Hertha BSC v Hamburger SV

6 December 2023 (2023-12-06)	Hertha BSC	3–3 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)	Hamburger SV	Berlin
20:45	Reese 21', 90' Kenny 120'	Report	Pherai 31' Bénes 43' Königsdörffer 102'	Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 58,946 Referee: Sascha Stegemann
	Penalties
	Prevljak Klemens El-Jindaoui Kenny Reese		Bénes Muheim Glatzel Königsdörffer

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 10 December 2023, with Jens Nowotny drawing the matches.^[11][25][26] The four matches took place from 30 to 31 January, 6 February and 12 March 2024.^[1]

FC St. Pauli v Fortuna Düsseldorf

30 January 2024 (2024-01-30)	FC St. Pauli	2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Fortuna Düsseldorf	Hamburg
20:45	Hartel 60' (pen.) Boukhalfa 120+1'	Report	Vermeij 38' (pen.) Tanaka 99'	Stadium: Millerntor-Stadion Attendance: 29,546 Referee: Sascha Stegemann
	Penalties
	Smith Saad Sinani Maurides Hartel		Hoffmann Daferner Engelhardt Tanaka Tzolis

Hertha BSC v 1. FC Kaiserslautern

31 January 2024 (2024-01-31)	Hertha BSC	1–3	1. FC Kaiserslautern	Berlin
20:45	Reese 90+1'	Report	Elvedi 5' Tachie 38' Kaloč 69'	Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 74,245 Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck

Bayer Leverkusen v VfB Stuttgart

6 February 2024 (2024-02-06)	Bayer Leverkusen	3–2	VfB Stuttgart	Leverkusen
20:45	Andrich 50' Adli 66' Tah 90'	Report	Anton 11' Führich 58'	Stadium: BayArena Attendance: 30,210 Referee: Daniel Schlager

1. FC Saarbrücken v Borussia Mönchengladbach

12 March 2024 (2024-03-12)[note 14]	1. FC Saarbrücken	2–1	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Saarbrücken
20:30	Naïfi 11' Brünker 90+3'	Report	Hack 8'	Stadium: Ludwigsparkstadion Attendance: 15,903 Referee: Robert Hartmann

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 11 February 2024, with Béla Réthy drawing the matches.^[11][28][29] The two matches took place on 2 and 3 April 2024.^[1]

1. FC Saarbrücken v 1. FC Kaiserslautern

2 April 2024 (2024-04-02)	1. FC Saarbrücken	0–2	1. FC Kaiserslautern	Saarbrücken
20:45		Report	Ritter 53' Touré 75'	Stadium: Ludwigsparkstadion Attendance: 15,903 Referee: Marco Fritz

Bayer Leverkusen v Fortuna Düsseldorf

3 April 2024 (2024-04-03)	Bayer Leverkusen	4–0	Fortuna Düsseldorf	Leverkusen
20:45	Frimpong 7' Adli 20' Wirtz 36', 60' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: BayArena Attendance: 30,210 Referee: Christian Dingert

Final

Main article: 2024 DFB-Pokal final

The final took place on 25 May 2024 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.^[1]

1. FC Kaiserslautern	0–1	Bayer Leverkusen
	Report	Xhaka 16'

25 May 2024 (2024-05-25)

20:00 CEST

Olympiastadion, Berlin

Attendance: 74,322

Referee: Bastian Dankert (Rostock)

Top goalscorers

The following were the top scorers of the DFB-Pokal, sorted first by number of goals, and then alphabetically if necessary. Goals scored in penalty shoot-outs are not included.

Rank	Player	Team	Goals[30]
1	Amine Adli	Bayer Leverkusen	5
2	Filip Bilbija	SC Paderborn	4
	Marcel Hartel	FC St. Pauli
	Fabian Reese	Hertha BSC
5	Kai Brünker	1. FC Saarbrücken	3
	Robin Hack	Borussia Mönchengladbach
	Adam Hložek	Bayer Leverkusen
	Bakery Jatta	Hamburger SV
	Ísak Jóhannesson	Fortuna Düsseldorf
	Haris Tabaković	Hertha BSC
	Richmond Tachie	1. FC Kaiserslautern
	Can Uzun	1. FC Nürnberg
	Florian Wirtz	Bayer Leverkusen

Notes

1. 1. FC Saarbrücken qualified as the fifth-placed team of the 3. Liga as the runners-up SC Freiburg II were ineligible to participate.
2. The three regions with the most participating teams in their league competitions (Bavaria, Lower Saxony, and Westphalia) were allowed to enter two teams for the competition.
3. In addition to the Bavarian Cup winners, the best-placed amateur team of the Regionalliga Bayern also qualified.
4. The Lower Saxony Cup was split into two paths: one for 3. Liga and Regionalliga Nord teams, and the other for amateur teams. The winners of each path qualified.
5. Atlas Delmenhorst qualified regardless of the outcome of the final of the Lower Saxony Cup, as VfL Osnabrück, the other finalists, already qualified for the DFB-Pokal through their 3. Liga position.
6. Since both finalists of the Saarland Cup, 1. FC Saarbrücken and SV Elversberg, qualified for the DFB-Pokal through their 3. Liga positions, a play-off match was held on 30 May 2023 between the other two semi-finalists, SV Auersmacher and FC 08 Homburg;^[4] the match ended in a 4–1 win for Homburg.^[5]
7. In addition to the Westphalian Cup winners, the best-placed Westphalian team of the Regionalliga West also qualified.^[6]
8. The TuS Bersenbrück v Borussia Mönchengladbach match took place at the Stadion an der Bremer Brücke instead of TuS Bersenbrück's home stadium, the Hasestadion in Bersenbrück.^[15]
9. The TSG Balingen v VfB Stuttgart match took place at the Stadion an der Kreuzeiche instead of TSG Balingen's home stadium, the Bizerba-Arena in Balingen.^[16]
10. The Schott Mainz v Borussia Dortmund match took place at the Mewa Arena instead of Schott Mainz's home stadium, the Otto-Schott-Sportzentrum in Mainz.^[17]
11. The Teutonia Ottensen v Bayer Leverkusen match took place at the Millerntor-Stadion instead of Teutonia Ottensen's home stadium, the Stadion Hoheluft in Ottensen.^[18]
12. The Rostocker FC v 1. FC Heidenheim match took place at the Ostseestadion instead of Rostocker FC's home stadium, the Sportpark am Damerower Weg in Rostock.^[19]
13. The SV Oberachern v SC Freiburg match took place at the Dreisamstadion instead of SV Oberachern's home stadium, the Sportplatz am Waldsee in Oberachern.^[20]
14. The match, originally scheduled for 7 February 2024, was postponed after heavy rains.^[27]

References

1. "DFB verabschiedet Rahmenterminkalender der Männer 2023/2024" [DFB adopts men's 2023–24 framework schedule]. DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
2. "Nkunku stars as Leipzig retain German Cup with 2–0 win over Frankfurt". Reuters. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
3. "Xhakas Geniestreich beschert Leverkusen Pokalsieg und Double". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
4. "Finale Sparkassen-Pokal Saar". saar-fv.de (in German). Saarland Football Association. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
5. "SV Auersmacher – FC 08 Homburg". fussball.de (in German). Retrieved 30 May 2023.
6. "Oberliga Staffeltag: Entscheidungsspiel um den DFB-Pokal-Platz wird abgeschafft" [Oberliga season day: Decisive game for the DFB-Pokal place is abolished]. FLVW.de (in German). Westphalian Football and Athletics Association. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
7. "Modus" [Mode]. DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
8. "Spielordnung/Schiedsrichterordnung" [Match rules/referee rules] (PDF). DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 30 September 2022. sec. 46, par. 2.1.2 (p. 77). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
9. "Durchführungsbestimmungen zur DFB-Spielordnung und weitere Richtlinien" [Implementing regulations for the DFB match regulations and other guidelines] (PDF). DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 1 February 2023. par. 30–31 (pp. 26–27). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
10. "Pokal ab Achtelfinale mit Video-Assistent" [Pokal from round of 16 with VAR]. DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
11. "Kehl lost erste Runde in der ARD aus" [Kehl draws the first round on ARD]. DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
12. "DFB-Pokal 2023/24: Diese Teams sind schon qualifiziert". kicker.de (in German). kicker. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
13. "Leichtathletin Vogel lost 1. Pokalrunde aus". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
14. "Münster empfängt FC Bayern, Leipzig zu Gast bei Wehen Wiesbaden". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
15. "Freitagabend an der Bremer Brücke – Spielort und Termin des DFB-Pokalspiels stehen fest". tus-bsb-fussball.de (in German). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
16. "Pressemitteilung der TSG Balingen: DFB-Pokal". tsg-fussball.de (in German). 2 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
17. "DFB-Pokal: Spiele von Mainz 05 und Schott Mainz genau terminiert". merkurist.de (in German). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
18. "Im Millerntor-Stadion: Werkself trifft auf Teutonia am Samstagnachmittag". bayer04.de (in German). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
19. "Pokalspiele terminiert: Hansa und Rostocker FC am Sonntag". Die Zeit (in German). 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
20. "Für ein Spiel: Freiburg kehrt ins Dreisamstadion zurück". kicker.de (in German). 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
21. "Mustafi lost zweite DFB-Pokalrunde aus". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
22. "Zweite Runde: Saarbrücken empfängt FC Bayern, Leipzig in Wolfsburg". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
23. "Denise Schindler lost Achtelfinale aus". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
24. "Zwei Erstligaduelle im Pokalachtelfinale". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
25. "Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Saarbrücken empfängt Gladbach". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
26. "Pokal der Frauen und Männer: Weltmeister-Trainer losen Viertelfinale aus". DFB.de (in German). German Football Association. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
27. "DFB-Pokalspiel Saarbrücken gegen Mönchengladbach abgesetzt". dfb.de (in German). 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
28. "Nach abgesagtem Pokal-Viertelfinale – so geht es weiter". sportschau.de (in German). 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
29. "Halbfinale: Leverkusen empfängt Düsseldorf". dfb.de (in German). 10 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
30. "DFB-Pokal – Torjäger 2023/24" [DFB-Pokal: Goalscorers 2023–24]. kicker.de (in German). kicker-sportmagazin. Retrieved 1 November 2023.

External links

• Official website (in German)
• DFB-Pokal on kicker.de (in German)
• Season report (in German)