DFB-Pokal first-round draw: HSV away to SC Verl

The draw for the first round of the 2026/27 DFB-Pokal took place at the German Football Museum in Dortmund on Saturday (6th June). Long-serving Bundesliga referee Deniz Aytekin, who is ending his career this summer after 254 Bundesliga matches, assisted DFB vice-president Peter Frymuth for the draw, with the Rothosen set to begin the new season away at third-tier SC Verl. The East Westphalia side finished sixth in the 3. Liga last term and qualified for the competition by winning the Landespokal Westfalen. 

Polzin: “We want to be ready from the get-go”

“The DFB-Pokal is a fantastic competition, and its special appeal is summed up by its motto ‘Winner stays on’. We’re looking forward to facing SC Verl and to seeing Bilal again,” explained HSV head coach Merlin Polzin, referring to youngster Bilal Yalcinkaya, who recently switched from the Rothosen to Verl. “For us, it’s the first competitive game of the new season, so we want to be ready from the get-go, live up to our tag as favourites as the Bundesliga club and make it through to the next round.”

The first round of the DFB-Pokal will mainly be played between 21st and 24th August. FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund, who are involved in the Supercup, will not enter the competition until 1st and 2nd September. The exact dates and kick-off times for each tie are yet to be confirmed.

Full draw at a glance:

SC St. Tönis – Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Erzgebirge Aue – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Eintracht Braunschweig – 1. FC Union Berlin
SV Eintracht Trier 05 – RB Leipzig
HEBC Hamburg – Borussia Dortmund
TSV Schott Mainz – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Fortuna Düsseldorf – SC Freiburg
Rot-Weiss Essen – FC St. Pauli
SG Sonnenhof Großaspach – Arminia Bielefeld
SSV Jeddeloh 2 – 1. FC Heidenheim 1846
SV Wehen Wiesbaden – Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Hallescher FC – FC Schalke 04
FC Energie Cottbus – FC Augsburg
VfB 1921 Krieschow – 1. FSV Mainz 05
SpVgg Greuther Fürth – VfL Bochum
SV Hemelingen – Hannover 96
SC Preußen Münster – Karlsruher SC
FC Saarbrücken – Hertha BSC
FC Viktoria Köln – 1. FC Nürnberg
MSV Duisburg – SV Elversberg
VfL Osnabrück – FC Bayern München
Lüneburger SK Hansa – SV Werder Bremen
SC Verl – Hamburger SV
F.C. Hansa Rostock – VfB Stuttgart
FC Carl Zeiss Jena – SV Darmstadt 98
Bahlinger SC – 1. FC Magdeburg
TSV 1860 München – Holstein Kiel
SV Waldhof Mannheim 07 – 1. FC Kaiserslautern
SV Westfalia Rhynern – SG Dynamo Dresden
1. FC Phönix Lübeck – SC Paderborn 07
VSG Altglienicke – VfL Wolfsburg
Würzburger Kickers – 1. FC Köln