Dresden beat Schalke 2:0 as Freiburg, Stuttgart and Hertha reach DFB-Pokal last 16

Schalke's exit in Dresden

Dynamo Dresden beat Bundesliga club Schalke 04 2:0 (0:0) in the second round on Wednesday evening, 28 October, and reached the round of 16 for the first time in twelve years. It was Schalke's sixth straight second-round exit from the cup, and the club has now gone five matches without a win in all competitions. The start was delayed by two minutes after pyrotechnics used in Dresden's fan choreography filled the air with smoke, and referee Wolfgang Haslberger waited for it to clear. Edin Dzeko had Schalke's first chance early on, but his header lacked the power to trouble the goalkeeper, and Schalke coach Miron Muslic had to do without seven regular starters. Dresden's Swiss coach Thomas Stamm made no changes from the 0:3 defeat at Holstein Kiel, which had dropped his side to 15th in the 2. Bundesliga.

Covic and Daferner decide it

Dresden kept the initiative after the interval and took the lead in the 54th minute. Patrice Covic reached a cross from Simon Straudi at the second post and finished, while Schalke goalkeeper Loris Karius looked unlucky as he tried to block with his leg. Schalke then pushed for an equaliser, but a cross from Vitalie Becker went unconverted and Dzeko missed a sliding challenge at the second post in the 74th minute. Substitute Christoph Daferner headed in from a set piece in the 88th minute to end the contest.

Hertha and Freiburg through late

Hertha BSC, the second-division leaders and still unbeaten according to reports, won 2:0 at Regionalligist SSV Jeddeloh II in Oldenburg, with coach Stefan Leitl's side goalless at the break. Josip Brekalo struck in the 57th minute and Julian Eitschberger in the 63rd, against a village club of 1,300 inhabitants that had beaten Bundesliga-relegated 1. FC Heidenheim 5:2 in round one. Jeddeloh II drew 10,000 spectators and earned roughly 685,000 euros in prize money for reaching the second round for the first time. Freiburg also needed a late winner, beating second-division VfL Wolfsburg 3:2 (1:2) before 32,000 spectators. Igor Matanovic opened the scoring in the 6th minute, Kento Shiogai scored twice for Wolfsburg in the 8th and 43rd minutes, and Keisuke Goto struck in the 75th and in the 90+2nd minute.

Stuttgart edge past ten-man Paderborn

VfB Stuttgart won 1:0 at Erstliga-Aufsteiger SC Paderborn, with Deniz Undav scoring in stoppage time before 14,846 spectators. Paderborn had been down to ten men since the 37th minute, when Laurin Curda was shown a red card for serious foul play. Stuttgart, who sit 15th in the Bundesliga table, won the cup in 2025 and lost the final to Bayern Munich in the previous season, and they can now hope for a third successive cup season of progress.

Jeddeloh II v Hertha BSC10,000

Freiburg v Wolfsburg32,000

Paderborn v Stuttgart14,846

Jeddeloh II v Hertha BSC

10000 spectators

Freiburg v Wolfsburg

32000 spectators

Paderborn v Stuttgart

14846 spectators

Data from the article text

What comes next

The draw for the round of 16 takes place on Sunday, 1 November, and the last-16 matches are scheduled for 1 and 2 December. Hertha, Freiburg, Stuttgart and Dresden have all advanced, though their opponents are not yet known. Hertha can still dream of a final at its home ground, the Olympiastadion. Schalke, by contrast, have now waited six years to reach the last 16 of the cup.