It was the kind of match that lives long in the memory — pure footballing chaos in Braunschweig, where Eintracht Braunschweig and VfB Stuttgart delivered a true spectacle in the DFB-Pokal first round.

In a rollercoaster 1/32 final tie, the two sides traded blows like heavyweight fighters, with the score swinging back and forth throughout a frantic 90 minutes. Stuttgart clawed their way back at the death to force extra time, then took the lead through a dramatic own goal — only to see Braunschweig level it once again in a breathtaking finish.

When it finally came down to penalties, the drama only intensified. Both sides were pushed to the limit, with a staggering 20 penalty kicks required to separate them. In the end, it was Stuttgart who held their nerve, surviving the footballing mayhem to book their place in the next round.

2025-26, Germany - DFB Pokal

Eintracht Braunschweig - VfB Stuttgart 4:4 (1:1), shoot-out 7:8
Goals: Köhler S., 8 (1:0); Demirovic, 11 (1:1); Demirovic, 60 (1:2); Di Michele Sanchez, 77 (2:2); Di Michele Sanchez, 85 (3:2); Woltemade, 89 (3:3); Ba S., 92 (own goal) (3:4); Conteh Chr., 104 (4:4)

Eintracht Braunschweig: Hoffmann R-T.; Aydin M-C.; Breunig L. (Conteh Chr., 63); Ehlers; Di Michele Sanchez (Bell Bell, 96); Frenkert; Köhler S. (Polter, 90); Heußer (Ba S., 73); Marie; Yardimci E. (Szabó, 63); Gomez Johan
Bench: Kaufmann; Ould Chikh W.; Sané S.
Yellow Cards: Köhler S. 25; Marie 105; Conteh Chr. 117

VfB Stuttgart: Nübel; Hendriks R.; Mittelstädt; Assignon; Jeltsch (Zagadou, 116); Stiller (Andres Chema, 96); Führich (Leweling, 71); Karazor; Tomas T. (Vagnoman, 96); Demirovic; Undav (Woltemade, 71)
Bench: Bredlow; Stenzel; Nartey; Jovanovic L.
Yellow Cards: Hendriks R. 32; Karazor 41; Jeltsch 90; Assignon 117; Leweling 120