45
17:57
Mid-term conclusion:
After 45 minutes, VfB Stuttgart led 2-1 in the DFB Cup final against Borussia Dortmund. In an extensive and extremely confused initial phase, the boys first had to find each other on the pitch. Until the middle of the first half, the encounter remained without any significant goalscoring scenes. Then a standard situation ensured the first shot on goal of the game and the Stuttgart lead. At this point, BVB had optically taken control, but had an effect after the setback. And the Swabians even followed suit. Borussia only recovered from this in the minutes before the break and actually managed to score the crucial goal that leaves everything open for the second half.
45
17:52
Both teams are no longer working so consistently defensively. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens takes the measure from a central 18 meters and shoots his right-footed shot over Tobias Werdich’s goal.
45
17:51
Official injury time (minutes): 2
45
17:50
Now the Stuttgarters switch quickly again – via Lukas Laupheimer to the right to Mattis Hoppe. His flat ball whizzes past friend and foe and ultimately misses the far post.
43
17:47
Tooor for Borussia Dortmund, 2:1 by Julian Rijkhoff
Dortmund’s captain Dennis Lütke-Frie keeps an eye on things and puts the ball through at the right moment. The pass comes perfectly into the run of Julian Rijkhoff, who has no opponent half right in the box and shoots with his right foot precisely into the left corner.
41
17:47
Dortmund achieves at least the significantly larger game shares. The Westphalians are currently on the ball very extensively. But the black and yellow still know far too little about this.
39
17:45
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens lifts the ball into the sixteen on the half-right. There, Julian Rijkhoff certainly makes light contact with Marvin Schuster and goes down. But that’s not enough for a penalty.
37
17:43
Afterwards, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens also takes care of the corner on the left. With his right foot and a lot of cutting, he pulls the ball to the goal, which ultimately lands on top of the net.
36
17:42
In a promising position, the ball is ready for BVB to take a free kick. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens takes a direct shot from about 19 yards. The slightly deflected shot flies over the box. At least that’s a first shot on goal for Borussia.
35
17:41
In the meantime, VfB let their opponents do their thing first, so they are content with the second goals for the moment. Since the Swabians are good at the back, they are not in danger.
34
17:40
Dortmund are trying doggedly to get their foot on the ground again. However, the black and yellow may not succeed much. The Stuttgart double strike has an unmistakable effect.
32
17:38
For a long time Raul Paula had to be treated. Now the midfielder has recovered and is returning to the pitch.
30
17:37
After a hard entry from Dennis Lütke-Frie, Raul Paula is on the ground. The ball is also in play, which doesn’t change the Stuttgarter’s pain. The supervisors are required.
28
17:32
Tooor for VfB Stuttgart, 2-0 through Nathan Winkler
The Stuttgarters play wonderfully through on the left side. After a one-two with Lukas Laupheimer, Davino Knappe pulls the ball flat and sharply into the middle. At the level of the first post, Thomas Kastanaras dives and fails from close range at Silas Ostrzinski. Then the ball bounces in a central position to Nathan Winkler, who remains calm and deliberately hits the left corner of the goal with his right foot from about twelve meters.
26
17:30
After the goal, Stuttgart felt a lot of tailwind and currently set the tone. Dortmund has to digest this setback first and seems a bit disoriented at the moment.
24
17:28
Tooor for VfB Stuttgart, 1-0 by Leon Reichardt
Then it is a corner of all things that causes the first final action of the game. And the Swabians use this first chance to score very efficiently. Leon Reichardt heads the high cross from the left from almost six meters into the right corner and puts the German A-Youth record champions in the lead.
23
17:28
Only now do Dortmund work out two more corners in a row. But the standards all remain too imprecise and fizzle out and evoke no danger.
22
17:27
Both teams are currently taking a breather. BVB controls this with the ball at their feet. Nothing worth mentioning is happening.
19
17:25
Then Göktan Gürpüz has some space in the middle near the penalty area, then puts the ball through to the half-left into the sixteen. The whole thing doesn’t happen exactly enough, which is why Julian Rijkhoff doesn’t catch the pass.
17
17:23
Equally inefficiently, the Swabians deal with a free kick on the other side. Raul Paula circles the free kick from the left right on the skull of a Dortmund defender. Colin Kleine-Bekel clears for BVB.
16
17:21
Dortmund works out the first corner kick of this encounter. On the right, Göktan Gürpüz is stepping into action. The midfielder’s cross lands again only on a Stuttgart head.
14
17:20
Mattis Hoppe and Thomas Kastanaras are trying to assert themselves on the right wing. The latter then pulls the ball back with his sole and creates space. But before the cross comes into the middle, the game device crosses the baseline.
12
17:18
Now it looks like a constructive attack at VfB for the first time. However, two flanks do not arrive in quick succession. In waiting for a first final action, we must continue to exercise patience.
10
17:16
Lion Semic is now looking for a way into the sixteen on the right, but is very well defended there by Moussa Cissé. The French VfB defender hits the ball wide.
9
17:14
In this phase, Borussia try to take control of the game. The focus is initially on ball possession and passing security. There is hardly any gain in space.
6
17:12
With a free kick from the left half of the field, BVB gets into the opponent’s penalty area for the second time. But even this high ball evokes no danger. VfB clarifies without any problems.
5
17:11
In any case, both teams show a lot of commitment and fight the duels bitingly. Of course, you also overshoot the target, which referee Jarno Wienefeld calls on the plan and leads to regular interruptions.
3
17:09
A first goal-oriented action comes from the Dortmunders. However, there is no final action because Bradley Fink cannot reach the flank. The Stuttgarters then reacted to this with a lot of possession. The Swabians don’t have more in mind for the time being.
1
17:05
The weather in Potsdam-Babelsberg is still showing its best side. There are no threatening clouds in sight at summer temperatures. Let’s hope that bringing it forward pays off and that we can play the game well in front of around 2,500 spectators.
16:58
In a direct comparison, both junior teams face each other for the sixth time. VfB has never won. Of the four semi-finals for the German championship in 1996 and 1997, it was only a 1-1 draw. Otherwise, BVB was always one step ahead – as they did in the last meeting in the DM final in 2019 (5: 3).
16:55
Dortmund started their way through the current competition with a 4-1 win at Viktoria Berlin. This was followed by a 3-1 win in Jena. Hannover 96 was won 3-1 after extra time. They also wrestled with SC Freiburg in the semifinals for over 120 minutes until they won 2-0. In addition, BVB’s A-Juniors have played internationally this season and made it to the quarter-finals in the Youth League, where they lost to Atlético Madrid (0-1). In addition, Borussia secured the title of NRW League Cup winners in November.
4:50 p.m
Fourth in the Bundesliga South/Southwest, Stuttgart missed the jump to the final round for the championship by two points. A defeat on the third-to-last matchday in Unterhaching (0:1) ultimately cost them the decisive points, because VfB had been the league leader up to that point. Now it’s time to pull it through, at least in the cup, to the very end. On their way so far, the Swabians eliminated Werder Bremen (2-1) and Bayer Leverkusen (3-1) away, Fortuna Düsseldorf at home (2-1) and FC Bayern Munich abroad (3-1 after extra time).
16:46
On the other hand, Borussia were in a class of their own during this Bundesliga season. In the western relay, the Westphalians took first place with an eleven-point lead. As a result, Dortmund are currently also playing for the German championship, easily asserted themselves against Schalke in the semi-finals (5:1, 0:1) and are back in Berlin on the last Sunday in May to fight for the championship title against Hertha BSC battle.
16:41
Strictly speaking, VfB Stuttgart is about defending their title. The last time this competition was played to the end, the Swabians came out on top three years ago in the final against RB Leipzig. In the years 2020 and 2021, the A-Junior season was canceled due to the corona pandemic. When the game was stopped in 2020, VfB had already been in the semi-finals again. Overall, the Stuttgart team are in the final for the fifth time in this age group and have won three cups so far. BVB’s U19s are in their second cup final. In their first appearance in 2009, they lost out on penalties against SC Freiburg.
16:35
Compared to the Swabians’ last Bundesliga game at the end of April, coach Nico Willig is making a change. Instead of Charalampos Drakas (Bnak), Moussa Cissé moves into the Stuttgart starting XI. On the BVB side, the last competitive game was only five days ago. In view of this, there are two changes at Mike Tullberg. Jonah Husseck and Vasco Walz sit on the bench today. Dennis Lütke-Frie and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are allowed to participate from the start.
16:05
Welcome to the DFB Cup final of the A-Juniors! At 5:00 p.m., VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund will meet at the Karl Liebknecht Stadium in Potsdam. The meeting was originally supposed to start an hour later, but due to unfavorable weather forecasts, it was agreed at short notice that it would be brought forward.