The2021–22DFB-Pokal was the 79th season of the annual Germanfootball cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year'sBundesliga and2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 6 August 2021 with the first of six rounds and ended on 21 May 2022 with the final at theOlympiastadion inBerlin, a nominally neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 1985.^[1] The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by theGerman Football Association (DFB).

Bundesliga sideBorussia Dortmund were the defending champions, having defeatedRB Leipzig 4–1 in theprevious final to clinch their fifth title,^[2] but lost toFC St. Pauli in the round of 16.^[3] Leipzig won this year's edition with a win overSC Freiburg.^[4]

As Leipzig already qualified for the2022–23 edition of theUEFA Champions League through their position in the Bundesliga, theUEFA Europa League group stage spot reserved for the cup winners went to the sixth-placed team, and the league'sUEFA Europa Conference League play-off round spot to the seventh-placed team. As winners, Leipzig hosted the2022 edition of theDFL-Supercup at the start of the next season, and faced the champion of the2021–22 Bundesliga,Bayern Munich.

The following teams qualified for the competition:

The DFB-Pokal began with a round of 64 teams. The 36 teams of theBundesliga and2. Bundesliga, along with the top four finishers of the3. Liga, were automatically qualified for the tournament. Of the remaining slots, 21 were given to the cup winners of the regional football associations, theVerbandspokal. The three remaining slots were given to the three regional associations with the most men's teams, which were Bavaria, Lower Saxony, and Westphalia. The best-placed amateur team of theRegionalliga Bayern was given the spot for Bavaria. For Lower Saxony, theLower Saxony Cup was split into two paths: one for3. Liga andRegionalliga Nord teams, and the other for amateur teams. The winners of each path qualified. For Westphalia, the best-placed team of theRegionalliga West also qualified.^[17] 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.^[19]

The draws for the different rounds were conducted as follows:^[19]

For the first round, the participating teams were split into two pots of 32 teams each. The first pot contained all teams which qualified through their regional cup competitions, the best four teams of the 3. Liga, and the bottom four teams of the 2. Bundesliga. Every team from this pot was drawn to a team from the second pot, which contained all remaining professional teams (all the teams of the Bundesliga and the remaining fourteen 2. Bundesliga teams). The teams from the first pot were set as the home team in the process.

The two-pot scenario was also applied for the second round, with the remaining 3. Liga and/or amateur team(s) in the first pot and the remaining Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga teams in the other pot. Once again, the 3. Liga and/or amateur team(s) served as hosts. This time the pots did not have to be of equal size though, depending on the results of the first round. Theoretically, it was even possible that there could be only one pot, if all of the teams from one of the pots from the first round had beat all the others in the second pot. Once one pot was empty, the remaining pairings were drawn from the other pot, with the first-drawn team for a match serving as hosts.

For the remaining rounds, the draw was conducted from just one pot. Any remaining 3. Liga and/or amateur team(s) were the home team if drawn against a professional team. In every other case, the first-drawn team served as hosts.

Teams met in one game per round. Matches took place for 90 minutes, with two halves of 45 minutes each. If still tied after regulation, 30 minutes ofextra time were played, consisting of two periods of 15 minutes each. If the score was still level after this, the match was decided by apenalty shoot-out. A coin toss would decide who took the first penalty.^[19] A maximum of nine players could be listed on the substitute bench, while a maximum of five substitutions were allowed.^[20] However, each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.^[21] From the round of 16 onward, avideo 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 round of 16 in order to provide a uniform approach to all matches.^[22]

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.^[19]

The winners of the DFB-Pokal earned automatic qualification for the group stage of next year's edition of theUEFA Europa League. If they had already qualified for theUEFA Champions League through position in the Bundesliga, then the spot would go to the team in sixth place, and the league's second qualifying round spot would go to the team in seventh place. The winners also hosted theDFL-Supercup at the start of the next season, and faced the champions of the previous year'sBundesliga, unless the same team won the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal, completing a double. In that case, the runners-up of the Bundesliga would take the spot and host instead.

All draws were held at theGerman Football Museum inDortmund, on a Sunday evening at 18:00 after each round (unless noted otherwise). The draws were televised onARD'sSportschau, broadcast onDas Erste. From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw for theDFB-Pokal Frauen also took place at the same time.^[23]

The rounds of the 2021–22 competition were scheduled as follows:^[1]

A total of sixty-three matches took place, starting with the first round on 6 August 2021 and culminating with the final on 21 May 2022 at theOlympiastadion inBerlin.

Times up to 30 October 2021 and from 27 March 2022 areCEST (UTC+2). Times from 31 October 2021 to 26 March 2022 areCET (UTC+1).

The draw for the first round was held on 4 July 2021 at 18:30, withThomas Broich drawing the matches.^[24][25] The thirty-two matches took place from 6 to 25 August 2021.^[1]

Weiche Flensburg vHolstein Kiel

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)	Weiche Flensburg	2–4 (a.e.t.)	Holstein Kiel	Flensburg
15:30	Herrmann 104',110'	Report	Arp 94' (pen.) Sander 105' Reese 120' Bartels 120+2'	Stadium:Manfred-Werner-Stadion Attendance: 1,700 Referee:Frank Willenborg

Wuppertaler SV vVfL Bochum

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)	Wuppertaler SV	1–2 (a.e.t.)	VfL Bochum	Wuppertal
15:30	Šarić 22'	Report	Zoller 53' Tesche 111'	Stadium:Stadion am Zoo Attendance: 4,490 Referee: Patrick Alt

SSV Ulm v1. FC Nürnberg

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)	SSV Ulm	0–1	1. FC Nürnberg	Ulm
18:30		Report	Duman 79'	Stadium:Donaustadion Attendance: 6,743 Referee: Michael Bacher

1. FC Magdeburg vFC St. Pauli

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)	1. FC Magdeburg	2–3	FC St. Pauli	Magdeburg
18:30	Conteh 31',54'	Report	Burgstaller 3',58' Medić 40'	Stadium:MDCC-Arena Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Robert Schröder

Wehen Wiesbaden vBorussia Dortmund

7 August 2021 (2021-08-07)	Wehen Wiesbaden	0–3	Borussia Dortmund	Wiesbaden
20:45		Report	Haaland 26',31' (pen.),51'	Stadium:BRITA-Arena Attendance: 4,882 Referee:Benjamin Cortus

SV Elversberg vMainz 05

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08)	SV Elversberg	2–2 (a.e.t.) (7–8p)	Mainz 05	Spiesen-Elversberg
15:30	Schnellbacher 73',110'	Report	Burkardt 89',116'	Stadium:Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde Attendance: 2,600 Referee: Thorben Siewer
	Penalties
	Schnellbacher Fellhauer Baumgärtel Dragon Conrad Laprévotte Müller Von Piechowski		Niakhaté Stöger Boëtius Burkardt Brosinski Martín St. Juste Stach

Carl Zeiss Jena v1. FC Köln

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08)	Carl Zeiss Jena	1–1 (a.e.t.) (2–4p)	1. FC Köln	Jena
15:30	Wolfram 5'	Report	Skhiri 69'	Stadium:Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld Attendance: 2,728 Referee: Florian Badstübner
	Penalties
	Oesterhelweg Bürger Dedidis Lange		Lemperle Schaub Thielmann Duda

FC Villingen vSchalke 04

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08)	FC Villingen	1–4	Schalke 04	Villingen-Schwenningen
15:30	Plavci 31'	Report	Bülter 17',51' Zalazar 49' Mikhailov 79'	Stadium:MS-Technologie-Arena Attendance: 4,992 Referee: Wolfgang Haslberger

Türkgücü München vUnion Berlin

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08)	Türkgücü München	0–1	Union Berlin	Munich
15:30		Report	Kruse 23'	Stadium:Grünwalder Stadion Attendance: 2,500 Referee:Martin Petersen

Preußen Münster vVfL Wolfsburg

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08)	Preußen Münster	2–0(awd.)	VfL Wolfsburg	Münster
15:30	Hoffmeier 74'	Report	Brekalo 90' Weghorst 103' Baku 120+1'	Stadium:Preußenstadion Attendance: 6,703 Referee:Christian Dingert
Note: The match originally ended 1–3 for Wolfsburg after extra time. Wolfsburg used a total of six substitutes, while only five were allowed, and were disqualified after a protest by Preußen Münster.[26]

Eintracht Braunschweig vHamburger SV

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08)	Eintracht Braunschweig	1–2	Hamburger SV	Braunschweig
18:30	Ihorst 44'	Report	Gyamerah 29' Glatzel 68'	Stadium:Eintracht-Stadion Attendance: 6,167 Referee:Tobias Welz

Würzburger Kickers vSC Freiburg

8 August 2021 (2021-08-08)	Würzburger Kickers	0–1	SC Freiburg	Würzburg
18:30		Report	Schmid 45'	Stadium:Flyeralarm Arena Attendance: 2,820 Referee:Benjamin Brand

FC Ingolstadt vErzgebirge Aue

9 August 2021 (2021-08-09)	FC Ingolstadt	2–1	Erzgebirge Aue	Ingolstadt
18:30	Bilbija 6' Kaya 79'	Report	Zolinski 67'	Stadium:Audi Sportpark Attendance: 3,322 Referee:Daniel Siebert

Sportfreunde Lotte vKarlsruher SC

9 August 2021 (2021-08-09)	Sportfreunde Lotte	1–4	Karlsruher SC	Lotte
18:30	Brauer 72'	Report	Schleusener 44' Hofmann 50' Kaufmann 58' Cueto 79'	Stadium:Stadion am Lotter Kreuz Attendance: 5,000 Referee:Riem Hussein

1. FC Kaiserslautern vBorussia Mönchengladbach

9 August 2021 (2021-08-09)	1. FC Kaiserslautern	0–1	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Kaiserslautern
20:45		Report	Stindl 11'	Stadium:Fritz-Walter-Stadion Attendance: 5,000 Referee:Harm Osmers

The draw for the second round was held on 29 August 2021 at 18:30, withRonald Rauhe drawing the matches.^[23][29][30] The sixteen matches took place from 26 to 27 October 2021.^[1]

Preußen Münster vHertha BSC

26 October 2021 (2021-10-26)	Preußen Münster	1–3	Hertha BSC	Münster
18:30	Deters 41'	Report	Jovetić 3' Belfodil 79' Richter 83'	Stadium:Preußenstadion Attendance: 11,037 Referee:Frank Willenborg

SV Babelsberg vRB Leipzig

26 October 2021 (2021-10-26)	SV Babelsberg	0–1	RB Leipzig	Potsdam
18:30		Report	Szoboszlai 45'	Stadium:Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion Attendance: 6,218 Referee:Benjamin Cortus

1860 Munich vSchalke 04

26 October 2021 (2021-10-26)	1860 Munich	1–0	Schalke 04	Munich
18:30	Lex 5'	Report		Stadium:Grünwalder Stadion Attendance: 15,000 Referee:Robert Kampka

Waldhof Mannheim vUnion Berlin

27 October 2021 (2021-10-27)	Waldhof Mannheim	1–3 (a.e.t.)	Union Berlin	Mannheim
18:30	Rossipal 4'	Report	Behrens 18',118' Awoniyi 94'	Stadium:Carl-Benz-Stadion Attendance: 15,000 Referee:Benjamin Brand

Bayer Leverkusen vKarlsruher SC

27 October 2021 (2021-10-27)	Bayer Leverkusen	1–2	Karlsruher SC	Leverkusen
18:30	Frimpong 54'	Report	Cueto 5' Choi 63'	Stadium:BayArena Attendance: 13,060 Referee:Tobias Welz

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 31 October 2021 at 18:30.^[23] The matches were drawn by Peter Zimmermann, the chairman ofSG Ahrtal, one of the football clubs affected by the2021 floods in Germany.^[31][32] The eight matches took place from 18 to 19 January 2022.^[1]

1. FC Köln vHamburger SV

18 January 2022 (2022-01-18)	1. FC Köln	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4p)	Hamburger SV	Cologne
18:30	Modeste 120+2' (pen.)	Report	Glatzel 92'	Stadium:RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 750 Referee: Daniel Schlager
	Penalties
	Özcan Modeste Ljubičić Duda Kainz		Kinsombi Kittel Vušković Gyamerah Schonlau

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 30 January 2022 at 19:15.Felix Neureuther was scheduled to draw the matches, but had to cancel; the draw was then performed byNorbert Dickel.^[33][34] The four matches will take place from 1 to 2 March 2022.^[1]

Union Berlin vFC St. Pauli

1 March 2022 (2022-03-01)	Union Berlin	2–1	FC St. Pauli	Berlin
20:45	Becker 45' Voglsammer 75'	Report	Kyereh 21'	Stadium:Stadion An der Alten Försterei Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Florian Badstübner

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 6 March 2022, withLaura Nolte drawing the matches.^[23][35][36] The two matches will take place from 19 to 20 April 2022.^[1]

The final took place on 21 May 2022 at theOlympiastadion inBerlin.^[1]

The following were the top scorers of the DFB-Pokal, sorted first by number of goals, and then alphabetically if necessary.^[37] Goals scored in penalty shoot-outs are not included.

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
1	Robert Glatzel	Hamburger SV	5
2	Maximilian Beier	Hannover 96	4
	Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting	Bayern Munich
	Erling Haaland	Borussia Dortmund
	Miloš Pantović	VfL Bochum
	Vincenzo Grifo	SC Freiburg
7	Jonathan Burkardt	Mainz 05	3
	Anthony Modeste	1. FC Köln
	Christopher Nkunku	RB Leipzig
10	24 players		2

• Official website(in English and German)
• DFB-Pokal on kicker.de

• DFB-Pokal seasons
• 2021–22 in German football cups

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Use dmy dates from December 2020
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles with German-language sources (de)