Bayern win DFB-Pokal over Stuttgart: Kane hat-trick confirms domestic double
Bayern Munich are once again winners of the German cup. In the DFB-Pokal final played on 23 May 2026 at Berlin's Olympiastadion, Vincent Kompany's team defeated VfB Stuttgart 3:0 and thus, after already winning the German championship title, confirmed the domestic double. According to the official match report of the German Football Association, the match in front of 74,036 spectators ended goalless in the first half, and then Harry Kane decided it after the break with three goals. The English striker scored in the 55th, 80th and 90.+2 minute, the last time from a penalty kick, thereby marking the season finale and bringing Bayern their first cup title since 2020.
The final carried additional weight because the record holder of the competition and the defending champion met in Berlin. Before and after the match, the DFB described Bayern as the most successful club in the history of the DFB-Pokal, while Stuttgart entered the final as the current winner of the competition. Such a context gave the duel a clear sporting dramaturgy: Bayern were seeking the return of a trophy that had eluded them in recent years, while Stuttgart were trying to confirm continuity after a successful season and defend their status as cup winners.
Stuttgart started better, Bayern waited for the right moment
The final score of 3:0 suggests a convincing victory, but the course of the match was not one-sided from the first whistle. According to the DFB report, Stuttgart were the more active and more dangerous team in the first half, especially in phases when they managed to press Bayern high and force them into a slower build-up of attacks. Already in the 9th minute Maximilian Mittelstädt threatened from a difficult position after a pass from Deniz Undav, and the same player once again tested goalkeeper Jonas Urbig in the 17th minute. Bayern had more possession, but in the early part of the encounter they failed to turn it into continuous pressure in front of Alexander Nübel's goal.
Urbig, who according to the DFB report played instead of the injured Manuel Neuer, had an important role in maintaining the balance of the score in the first half. Stuttgart sought a way to the lead through Mittelstädt, Chris Führich and crosses from set pieces, while Bayern only occasionally reached the final third. Luis Díaz made one of the German champions' first more concrete attempts around the half-hour mark, and Harry Kane was left without a clear chance before the break after Joshua Kimmich's free kick. The first 45 minutes therefore ended without goals, but not without a clear message that Stuttgart could make the favourite's job difficult.
Such a development was later confirmed by statements from the participants. Joshua Kimmich told the DFB that the first half was very evenly matched and that Stuttgart came into the match better, while Bayern coach Vincent Kompany emphasized that his team had played against a strong opponent. Comments from Stuttgart left a similar impression: Deniz Undav and Ermedin Demirović pointed out that VfB made the game difficult for Bayern for a long time and had periods in which they could hope for a more favourable outcome. That is exactly why the final result does not speak only about the difference in quality, but also about how efficient Bayern were when the match entered its decisive phase.
Kimmich and Olise opened the space, Kane punished the first lapse in concentration
The turning point came in the 55th minute. According to the DFB's description of the move, Joshua Kimmich quickly took a free kick toward the right side, Michael Olise crossed the ball into the penalty area, and Harry Kane headed in from close range for 1:0. At that moment Bayern used exactly what they had lacked in the first half: a quicker decision, a more precise entry into the final phase and a striker who can change an entire match from a small amount of space.
After the opening goal, the balance of power became different. Stuttgart had to move out of a waiting position and once again seek greater risk, while Bayern gained the possibility to control the rhythm and use the space that was opening behind the opponent's lines. In its report, the DFB states that after the goal the Munich side took over dominance and managed the ball with increasing security, and that Stuttgart found it increasingly difficult to generate the pressure needed for an equaliser. In such a scenario, Bayern's individual quality came fully to the fore.
The second goal, scored in the 80th minute, practically decided the final. Kane received the ball with his back turned toward goal, turned around his own axis and with a precise shot hit the bottom corner. That move summed up his evening: he did not need much space, but he knew how to turn every mistake and every moment of inattention into a goal. After that Stuttgart had too little time and energy left for a comeback, and Bayern reached the closing stages with control of the score and complete confidence in their own game plan.
The third goal came in stoppage time. The DFB states that Angelo Stiller handled the ball after Olise's cross, which resulted in Bayern receiving a penalty kick. Kane took responsibility and scored for the final 3:0. With that he became the absolute hero of the final, and his name remained tied to one of the most striking individual performances in the closing stages of the German cup in recent years.
Kane ended the cup season as the symbol of Bayern's attack
In its coverage of the match, the Bundesliga highlighted that Kane finished the cup campaign with ten goals and that he scored in every round of the competition. That fact further explains why the final in Berlin was experienced as the logical conclusion of his season. It was not just one great performance, but the continuity of a striker who carried Bayern through key moments throughout the entire DFB-Pokal.
His hat-trick against Stuttgart also differed in the way the goals were scored. The first headed goal showed classic finishing inside the box, the second technical composure and resourcefulness in a crowd, and the third certainty from the spot at a moment when the final had already been decided, but the story still needed to be rounded off. According to the DFB's statements after the encounter, Kane said that he had been especially looking forward to the final and that the feeling of playing such a match was special. At the same time, he emphasized that the duel was tight, but that Bayern took advantage of Stuttgart's drop in intensity after roughly an hour.
For Bayern, Kane's evening also had broader significance. The club had already secured the Bundesliga championship title, but in Berlin it was seeking confirmation of the season through a second domestic trophy. According to Max Eberl, Bayern's sporting director, it was an outstanding season that the team deservedly concluded with a double. Eberl told the DFB that it was especially fitting that the match was decided with a hat-trick precisely by Kane, because that rewarded the quality the striker had been bringing throughout the entire season.
Double, 21st cup title and the return of the trophy after six years
After the final, the DFB announced that Bayern had won the DFB-Pokal for the 21st time, further cementing their status as the competition's record holders. The same report states that this was the club's first cup title since 2020, which explains why the trophy had special importance for the team, management and fans. In recent years Bayern had suffered early exits in the German cup and had not regularly reached the final stages, so the return to the Berlin stage also had a symbolic dimension.
In the context of the entire season, the trophy in Berlin means that Bayern combined the league and the cup, that is, achieved a domestic double. Through statements by players and officials, the DFB stated that this was Bayern's 14th double overall from a championship title and cup triumph. Such an achievement is especially important for Kompany, who this season led the team to domestic dominance and in doing so managed to reconnect result, rhythm and attacking efficiency.
After the match, Kimmich spoke about the special dynamic that had been created within the team and about the desire to win the trophy for the club, families and the players themselves. According to the DFB, Kompany described the final as an almost perfect cup match in which Bayern raised their level in the second half and defended steadily. These statements show how the victory was experienced inside the dressing room: not just as another trophy, but as the final confirmation of a process in a season in which Bayern once again set a high domestic standard.
Stuttgart left without defending the title, but with confirmation of competitiveness
For Stuttgart, the defeat meant the end of their title defence, but not necessarily the end of a positive season. In statements after the final, the DFB reported that coach Sebastian Hoeneß emphasized disappointment, but also pride in the way his team played for most of the match. In his assessment, Stuttgart showed for more than an hour what is needed to push Bayern to the limit, and that performance can help the team enter the summer break with a sense of progress despite the defeat.
A similar message was sent by Deniz Undav, who emphasized that Stuttgart wanted to win, but that the team could nevertheless be proud of the season and qualification for the Champions League. Ermedin Demirović assessed that VfB played a very good match, were present in duels and for a long time controlled many of Bayern's mechanisms, but that Kane's individual quality proved decisive. Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth said that Stuttgart could leave the pitch with their heads held high, even though the closing stages showed how difficult it is to contain Bayern once space opens up for their most dangerous players.
It was precisely that dual image that marked Stuttgart's evening. On the one hand, the final 0:3 leaves no room for doubt about the winner. On the other hand, the performance in the first half and the early part of the second half confirm that Stuttgart were not a passive finalist, but an opponent who had a clear plan for a long time and enough intensity to disrupt Bayern. The difference, however, appeared in the finishing of moves, where Bayern had Kane, Olise and Kimmich as key creators and executors.
Berlin once again the centre of the German football season
The Olympiastadion in Berlin was once again the stage for the DFB-Pokal final, and the official figure of 74,036 sold-out seats confirms the level of interest in the final. The match was refereed by Sven Jablonski, as stated in the official DFB match report, and the final was played as the 83rd final of the men's DFB-Pokal. In sporting terms, the encounter closed the domestic season in Germany and offered a contrast between Bayern's experience in winning trophies and Stuttgart's desire to defend last year's success.
Bayern reached the final through a demanding path. According to the club's overview of the road to Berlin, the team defeated Wehen Wiesbaden 3:2 in the first round, then 1. FC Köln 4:1, Union Berlin 3:2, RB Leipzig 2:0 and Bayer Leverkusen 2:0. That run shows that the trophy was not won only through one powerful evening in Berlin, but through a series of matches in which Bayern had to solve different types of opponents and pressures. Stuttgart, according to the same competitive framework and the official DFB data, entered the final as defending champions and as a team that once again showed it belongs at the top of German football.
For Bayern, the final whistle marked the beginning of celebration and the end of a six-year wait for the DFB-Pokal. For Stuttgart, it marked a painful defeat in the final, but also confirmation that the club had returned to the circle of teams capable of playing finals and European-relevant matches. The final image, however, belongs to Kane: three goals, one trophy and an evening in which Bayern made the domestic double unquestionable.
Sources:
- DFB Datencenter – official match report of the DFB-Pokal final Bayern Munich - VfB Stuttgart 3:0, with date, stadium, spectators, referee and goalscorers (link)
- German Football Association DFB – final report and description of the course of the match, including Harry Kane's goals and the context of Bayern's 21st cup title (link)
- German Football Association DFB – statements by participants after the final, including comments by Joshua Kimmich, Harry Kane, Vincent Kompany, Max Eberl and Stuttgart representatives (link)
- Bundesliga – live coverage of the final and statistical context of Kane's cup campaign, including the information about ten goals and goals in every round (link)
- FC Bayern Munich – overview of Bayern's path to the 2026 DFB-Pokal final and results by rounds (link)