Possible semi-final opponents: What next for Bayern in the DFB Cup

Now it’s just one step to go to the final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. After the hard-fought 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig in the quarter-finals, Bayern are in the final four in the DFB Cup – for the first time since the 2019/20 season, when the record cup winners went on to lift the trophy for the 20th and last time. Vincent Kompany’s side will find out who they play in the semi-finals on Sunday 22 February, when the pairings for the penultimate round will be drawn from around 17:15 CET. Everything you need to know about the draw is here:

The possible opponents:

For the first time in three years, it’s an all-Bundesliga line-up in the semi-finals. Bayern will therefore definitely face a rival from the top flight.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen 

Leverkusen saw off FC St. Pauli in an all-Bundesliga clash in the quarter-finals, comfortably winning 3-0. Bayern have met the Werkself eight times to date in the DFB Cup, with Bayer 04 only going through to the next round on two occasions. The Bavarians won both of the only two previous semi-final encounters in this competition – 3-1 at home in 2003 and 6-2 away in 2018. However, Leverkusen came out on top in the most recent cup meeting, winning 1-0 at the Allianz Arena two years ago, when Manuel Neuer was shown an early red card and Nathan Tella netted the winning goal.

SC Freiburg

The Black Forest club have already sniffed the Berlin air and were pushed all the away by second-tier Hertha BSC at the final venue, needing penalties to seal their place in the next round. Now there could be a third cup clash between SCF and FCB. In the 2005 quarter-finals, Bayern blew Freiburg away 7-0, with a Claudio Pizarro hat-trick plus goals from Michael Ballack and Roy Makaay making it 5-0 after only 39 minutes in the snow in the Breisgau. Pizarro again and Vahid Hashemian completed the scoring. It proved to be the Iranian’s only competitive goal for Bayern. Freiburg had to wait 18 years for the chance to avenge that drubbing – and they made the most of it with an upset in the quarter-finals in 2023. The 2-1 victory at the Allianz Arena knocked the Munich men out of the cup.

VfB Stuttgart

Stuttgart avoided an upset against Bundesliga 2 side Holstein Kiel in the last eight and eased into the semi-finals with a 3-0 win. VfB have found it much harder against Bayern in their cup history: the record cup winners have lost just once in 10 meetings in the competition. That came in the round of 16 in 1990 with a 3-0 defeat at the Neckarstadion. Otherwise, FCB have dominated this prestigious match-up, winning without conceding four times and always without needing to go to extra time or penalties. The only previous encounter at this stage of the cup ended in a 3-0 win for Bayern in February 1998 – the goalscorers at the Olympiastadion were Dietmar Hamann, Mehmet Scholl and Michael Tarnat.

How does the draw work?

The two pairings will be drawn from a pot, with the team drawn first playing at home. With no non-league teams left, no clubs automatically have home advantage. It’s yet to be confirmed who will be conducting the draw on 22 February, but it will be live to watch in Germany on the Sportstudio live programme on ZDF. It’s planned to take place at half-time during the top-of-the-table Women’s Bundesliga match between FC Bayern and VfL Wolfsburg (kick-off 16:20 CET).

When are the DFB Cup semi-finals played?

The semi-final ties will be held on 21 and 22 April 2026. The DFB Cup final will take place on 23 May 2026, as usual at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Hopefully this time with FC Bayern.

How Bayern made it through to the semi-finals: