VfB Stuttgart Reaches DFB-Pokal Final After Dramatic Victory Over SC Freiburg, Facing FC Bayern Munich

VfB Stuttgart is just one step away from defending their DFB-Pokal title after a performance driven by sheer will.

Coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s team won a thrilling semi-final against SC Freiburg 2-1 after extra time, with a late goal from Tiago Tomás (119th minute) securing their place in the final against FC Bayern Munich. On May 23rd, VfB has the opportunity to cap off another strong season with a title in the Olympiastadion.

Deniz Undav (70th minute) and Tomás, who was substituted on shortly before, turned the hard-fought match around for Stuttgart, who are also competing for direct qualification to the Champions League in the league. Freiburg, who had taken the lead through Maximilian Eggestein (28th minute), missed out on their first of two potential title chances. In the coming weeks (April 30th and May 7th), the «Sport-Club» will compete against Sporting Braga for a spot in the Europa League final.

After the match, many Freiburg players’ attention was focused on their phone screens, rewatching the incident in the first minute of extra time that led to Lucas Höler’s disallowed goal, which would have made it 2-1. The refereeing team, led by Tobias Welz, called a perceived clear foul by the attacker on Jeff Chabot early on, preventing the VAR from intervening.

«He should never have whistled that situation,» Maximilian Eggestein stated emphatically to the ARD microphone, adding, «No one can tell me that if they let that play on, the video assistant would have overturned it. Never. And that’s why it’s a shame he intervened. Huge incomprehension.» SCF coach Julian Schuster also described the disallowed goal as legitimate. «That’s tough. It’s not a foul. It hurts.»

Bayern Munich had previously advanced to the Berlin final on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, marking their first appearance since 2020. They will now face VfB in the Pokal final for the third time, having won the title in both 1986 and 2013.

In Stuttgart, the desire for a trip to Berlin was immense, less than a year after their triumphant victory over Arminia Bielefeld. The team has «tasted blood,» as Hoeneß emphasized: «Lifting the cup was magnificent. We want that again.» However, Freiburg was also eager for the final. They wanted to «carry the flow» of recent weeks into the match, as Vincenzo Grifo said.

Substitute Tiago Tomás Becomes the Match-Winner for VfB Stuttgart

In front of national coach Julian Nagelsmann, a heated match unfolded. Referee Tobias Welz had already shown four yellow cards by the quarter-hour mark, making it difficult to establish any real game rhythm. Eggestein (17th minute) had the only dangerous shot in the early stages, with subsequent penalty claims being unsuccessful.

However, just about ten minutes later, the «Sport-Club» celebrated nonetheless. Eggestein redirected a header from Matthias Ginter into the net from close range. VfB only started creating chances shortly before halftime but then pressed vehemently for an equalizer. Ermedin Demirovic (40th minute), Jamie Leweling (44th minute), and Undav (45+3 minute) narrowly failed to score.

VfB remained active after the break. Chris Führich (49th minute) missed another good chance, and after an hour, SC goalkeeper Florian Müller, who, as is customary in the cup, replaced the likely departing first-choice keeper Noah Atubolu, had to make a save. The former Stuttgart player held Angelo Stiller’s shot on the line.

On the other end, Yuito Suzuki missed a chance to seal the game, and Undav scored with the immediate counter-attack. A deflected shot from the national striker later hit the post (82nd minute). Müller saved Freiburg by denying Führich (90+2 minute) and Undav (90+4 minute) to force extra time. In extra time, Führich hit the post (96th minute), and Müller was brilliant again against El Khannouss (103rd minute). Then, Tiago Tomás became the celebrated match-winner.

VfB Stuttgart vs. SC Freiburg 2:1 A.E.T. (1:1, 0:1) — Match Data