2018–19 DFB-Pokal

The following 64 teams qualified for the competition: ==Format==

Participation The DFB-Pokal began with a round of 64 teams. The 36 teams of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, along with the top four finishers of the 3. Liga, automatically qualified for the tournament. Of the remaining slots, 21 were given to the cup winners of the regional football associations, the Verbandspokal. The three remaining slots were given to the three regional associations with the most men's teams, which at the time were Bavaria, Lower Saxony, and Westphalia. The runners-up of the Lower Saxony Cup were given the slot, along with the best-placed amateur team of the Regionalliga Bayern. For Westphalia, the winners of a play-off between the best-placed team of the Regionalliga West and Oberliga Westfalen also qualified. As every team was entitled to participate in local tournaments which qualified for the association cups, every team could in principle compete in the DFB-Pokal. Reserve teams and combined football sections were not permitted to enter, along with no two teams of the same association or corporation. Draw The draws for the different rounds were conducted as following: From the quarter-finals onward, a video assistant referee was appointed for all DFB-Pokal matches. Though technically possible, VAR was not used for home matches of Bundesliga clubs prior to the quarter-finals in order to provide a uniform approach to all matches. Suspensions If a player received five yellow cards in the competition, he was then suspended from the next cup match. Similarly, receiving a second yellow card suspended a player from the next cup match. If a player received a direct red card, they were suspended a minimum of one match, but the German Football Association reserved the right to increase the suspension. Champion qualification The winners of the DFB-Pokal earned automatic qualification for the group stage of next year's edition of the UEFA Europa League. As winners Bayern Munich had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League by winning the Bundesliga, the spot went to the team in sixth place, VfL Wolfsburg, and the league's second qualifying round spot went to the team in seventh place, Eintracht Frankfurt. As Bayern won both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal, completing a double, the runners-up of the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund, hosted the 2019 DFL-Supercup at the start of the next season. ==Schedule==

in Berlin hosted the final All draws were held at the German Football Museum in Dortmund, on a Sunday evening at 18:00 after each round (unless noted otherwise). The draws were televised on ARD's Sportschau, broadcast on Das Erste. From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw for the DFB-Pokal der Frauen also generally took place at the same time. The rounds of the 2018–19 competition were scheduled as follows: ==Matches==

A total of sixty-three matches took place, starting with the first round on 17 August 2018 and culminating with the final on 25 May 2019 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Times up to 27 October 2018 and from 31 March 2019 are CEST (UTC+2). Times from 28 October 2018 to 30 March 2019 are CET (UTC+1). First round The draw for the first round was held on 8 June 2018 at 22:00, with Palina Rojinski drawing the matches. The thirty-two matches took place from 17 to 20 August 2018. Second round The draw for the second round was held on 26 August 2018 at 18:00, with Gina Lückenkemper drawing the matches. The sixteen matches took place from 30 to 31 October 2018. Round of 16 The draw for the round of 16 was held on 4 November 2018 at 18:00, with Serdal Celebi drawing the matches. The eight matches took place from 5 to 6 February 2019. Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 10 February 2019 at 18:15, with Fabian Böhm drawing the matches. The four matches took place from 2 to 3 April 2019. Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals was held on 7 April 2019 at 18:00, with Lena Goeßling drawing the matches. The two matches took place on 23 and 24 April 2019. ---- Final The final took place on 25 May 2019 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. ==Bracket==

The following is the bracket which the DFB-Pokal resembled. Numbers in parentheses next to the match score represent the results of a penalty shoot-out. ==Top goalscorers==

The following were the top scorers of the DFB-Pokal, sorted first by number of goals, and then alphabetically if necessary. Goals scored in penalty shoot-outs are not included. ==Broadcasting rights==

In Germany, all matches and a simulcast (Konferenz) channel were broadcast live on pay TV via Sky Sport. Selected matches from the first round to the quarter-finals, along with highlights from all matches, were broadcast on free TV by Das Erste's Sportschau live from ARD. Both semi-final matches and the final were broadcast by both Das Erste and Sky Sport. The following matches were broadcast live on ARD: ==Notes==