SV Werder Bremen will face Viktoria Köln in the first round of the 2023/24 DFB-Pokal. The match will take place on Saturday 12th August at 15:30 CEST, as was announced by the DFB on Wednesday morning.
SV Werder Bremen will face Viktoria Köln in the first round of the 2023/24 DFB-Pokal. The match will take place on Saturday 12th August at 15:30 CEST, as was announced by the DFB on Wednesday morning.
Head coach Ole Werner: "It definitely isn't easy to be up against a third-division side in the first round. Viktoria Köln are a very experienced, tough team. We want to do our job as the favourites and advance to the next round. We're looking forward to the challenge and the competition."
Captain Marco Friedl: "It's a very interesting draw. They have been playing at a consistently strong level in the 3. Liga for a few years now. Of course, we're the favourites, but we saw in Cottbus last season how we made things tough for ourselves. That's why we need to be fully focused from the first to the final minute and give it 100%."
Niclas Füllkrug: "An opponent from the third division is always challenging, and is never an easy task in the Pokal. You cannot underestimate any of your opponents and we will need to be fully prepared in order to be in a good position to win the game."
Clemens Fritz, head of first-team football: "A third-tier side, small stadium, firey atmosphere. Last year in Cottbus, we saw that it's not an easy thing to do. We cannot afford to have any doubts about our performance and allow our opponents into the game. We're travelling to Cologne to face a strong side and are up for the challenge. The important thing is that the boys are fired up for the game."
FC 08 Homburg - SV Darmstadt 98
Hallescher FC - SpVgg Greuther Fürth
SV Sandhausen - Hannover 96
VfL Osnabrück - 1. FC Köln
SV Atlas Delmenhorst - FC St. Pauli
FV Illertissen - Fortuna Düsseldorf
Makkabi Berlin - VfL Wolfsburg
FC Rot-Weiß Koblenz - 1. FC Kaiserslautern
SpVgg Unterhaching - FC Augsburg
Rostocker FC - 1. FC Heidenheim
SC Preußen Münster - FC Bayern München
SSV Jahn Regensburg - 1. FC Magdeburg
Energie Cottbus - SC Paderborn
FC Oberneuland - 1. FC Nürnberg
VfB Lübeck - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
TSG Balingen - VfB Stuttgart
TSV Schott Mainz - Borussia Dortmund
Rot-Weiß Essen - Hamburger SV
SV Elversberg - FSV Mainz 05
1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig - Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Astoria Walldorf - 1. FC Union Berlin
FC Viktoria Köln - SV Werder Bremen
First round: 11th-14th August 2023
Second round: 31st October-1st November 2023
Round of 16: 5th-6th December 2023
Quarterfinal: 30th-31st January, 6th-7th February 2024
Semi-final: 2nd-3rd April 2024
Final: 25th May 2024
3rd/4th July: Performance tests
5th July, 14:30 CEST: Return to training
9th July, 15:30 CEST: Friendly vs. SV Drochtersen/Assel (Verden)
16th July, 15:00 CEST: Friendly vs. VfB Oldenburg (Westerstede)
19th July - 29th July: Training camp in Zillertal
11th-14th August: First-round DFB-Pokal match
18th-20th August: Bundesliga matchday 1
