Eight teams remain in the competition – six from the Bundesliga and two from the 2. Bundesliga. Alongside Freiburg, FC Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, FC St. Pauli and VfB Stuttgart are the other top-flight sides still in contention, while Holstein Kiel and Hertha BSC are the second-tier representatives.

Former Bundesliga coach Friedhelm Funkel, most recently interim boss at 1. FC Köln, drew Freiburg an away tie against Hertha.

SC reached the last eight after victories on the road against fourth-tier side Sportfreunde Lotte (2-0) and 2. Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf (3-1), followed by a 2-0 home win over SV Darmstadt 98 in the round of 16. Hertha, currently seventh in the 2. Bundesliga after 15 matchdays, have beaten league rivals in every round so far, overcoming Preußen Münster on penalties, Elversberg 3-0 in the second round and Kaiserslautern 6-1 last time out.

The DFB-Pokal quarter-finals will be played on 3rd/4th and 10th/11th February 2026, with exact kick-off times still to be confirmed.

Photo: ARD