Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Cup: Will Werder Bremen shock again?

Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Cup: Will Werder Bremen shock again?

The excitement in football is rising as the DFB Cup season ushers in its first first round games! Next Friday, August 12, 2025, last year's finalist Arminia Bielefeld will face Werder Bremen. This duel will be broadcast live on ZDF at 8:45 p.m., with the broadcast starting at 8:15 p.m. Fans can look forward to an exciting analysis not only on ZDF, the pay TV channel Sky and the streaming service Wow also have the match on their program. For those who cannot see it live, BILD.de also offers a free live ticker.

Last year, Werder Bremen, a Bundesliga team after all, ended their cup adventure unhappily when they were eliminated 1-2 by the third division team from Bielefeld. But that didn't discourage the boys from Bremen: Bielefeld, now in the second division, is aiming to repeat the triumph of 2025 and has prepared excellently to achieve another surprising victory.

The signs of the game

Before kick-off, the football fans are fascinated by the situation at Werder Bremen. There is some uncertainty about the starting goalkeeper position. Coach Horst Steffen has officially decided that Michael Zetterer should be trusted as the starting goalkeeper, but it is still unclear whether he will actually be on the pitch against Bielefeld. Steffen is even thinking about using the loser of the internal duel, which also brings the goalkeeper question into focus, in the DFB Cup.

In Bielefeld, however, the signs are much more positive. According to information from Arminia.de, around 26,601 fans are expected in the stadium to support their team on this important evening. The team starts with a similar line-up to the last cup win against Freiburg, with Joel Felix replacing Maximilian Großer in the starting eleven.

The gameplay

The first minutes of the game were dynamic, and in the third minute Arminia initiated their first offensive action through Louis Oppie and Marius Wörl. In the tenth minute there was a free kick for Arminia after Sam Schreck was fouled. Felix skilfully used the cross with his head for the first dangerous action.

While Werder Bremen didn't really put up a fight until the 13th minute and Ducksch missed the goal, Bielefeld showed a fighting spirit. With an impressive shot from 20 meters, Wörl gave Arminia the lead after 35 minutes. Just a few minutes later, in the 41st minute, an own goal from Malatini made it 2-0 at halftime.

After the break, Bremen got into the game better and the first small chance belonged to Burke. But Bielefeld's defense stood well and saved in dire need against another Bremen attack. Burke's goal came in the 56th minute and once again caused excitement. Nevertheless, Bielefeld kept their nerve and defended passionately. Despite another shot from Pieper hitting the crossbar and an alleged goal from Schreck being disallowed by VAR, East Westphalia retained the upper hand. In the end it was 2-1 for Arminia Bielefeld, who secured their place in the DFB Cup semi-finals.

A look at the lineups: Arminia lined up with Kersken – Oppie, Felix, Russo, Schneider, Lannert – Schreck, Kunze (66th Großer), Corboz, Wörl (90th Grodowski) – Kania (54th Uldrikis/66th Sarenren Bazee).

On the Werder Bremen side, Zetterer – Jung, Stark, Malatini (88th Pieper) – Köhn (82nd Agu), Lynen, Weiser – Grüll (46th Bittencourt), Stage – Ducksch (30th Njinmah), Silva (46th Burke) were used. In the end, the referee Robert Hartmann had no composure to miss, and yellow cards for Felix, Weiser, Bittencourt and Malatini also contributed to this.

With this successful performance, the fans are looking forward to the next rounds and everyone involved is sure that this will not be the last meeting between these two traditional clubs. Or as they say in Austria: “There’s more to come!”