2018–19 DFB-Pokal

[1] The DFB-Pokal is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship.

The defending champions were Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, after they defeated Bayern Munich 3–1 in the previous final.

[2] Frankfurt were knocked out of the competition in the first round by fourth-division side SSV Ulm, losing 1–2.

With the win, Bayern completed their 12th domestic double, and therefore played away to 2018–19 Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund in the 2019 DFL-Supercup in August 2019.

The following 64 teams qualified for the competition: Baden Bavaria[note 4] Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Hesse Lower Rhine Lower Saxony[note 5] Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Middle Rhine Rhineland Saarland Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig-Holstein South Baden Southwest Thuringia Westphalia[note 7] Württemberg The DFB-Pokal began with a round of 64 teams.

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.

After approval by the IFAB in 2016, the use of a fourth substitute was allowed in extra time as part of a pilot project.

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.

[3] 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.

All draws were held at the German Football Museum in Dortmund, on a Sunday evening at 18:00 after each round (unless noted otherwise).

From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw for the DFB-Pokal der Frauen also generally took place at the same time.

In Germany, all matches and a simulcast (Konferenz) channel were broadcast live on pay TV via Sky Sport.

Both semi-final matches and the final were broadcast by both Das Erste and Sky Sport.