Harry Kane set the tone as FC Bayern München beat VfB Stuttgart 2:1 in Stuttgart, opening the scoring in the 18th minute and Luis Diaz adding a second in the 77th minute before Jamie Leweling pulled one back in the third minute of stoppage time.
The result underlines Bayern’s place in the calendar: the club will take part in the Franz-Beckenbauer-Supercup 2026, which is scheduled for 22 August 2026 and pits the reigning German champion against the DFB-Pokal winner.
Both finalists reached this point with wins in their DFB-Pokal semifinals — FC Bayern beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart beat SC Freiburg — meaning the Pokalfinale in Berlin will decide whether the Supercup is a repeat pairing. If Stuttgart lifts the cup, the two clubs will meet again in the Supercup; if Bayern wins the Pokalfinale, their Supercup opponent would be the Bundesliga runner-up. At the time of writing Borussia Dortmund stood second in the Bundesliga table.
That arithmetic matters because last year’s Supercup was already a meeting of the two clubs: the 2025 match finished 2:1 to FC Bayern München. Recent Supercups have swung between clubs — in 2024 Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart drew 2:2 and Leverkusen won on penalties, while in 2023 RB Leipzig beat Bayern 3:0 — a reminder that the curtain-raiser can mean very different things from season to season.
The stakes felt immediate in Berlin on the day of the Pokalfinale. Around 25,000 VfB fans were expected on Alexanderplatz, and travel details underlined the commitment: Michael, Andreas and Stefan travelled overnight by bus from the Schwäbische Alb; Fynn, Heiko and Dominik made the trip from Stuttgart with a stop in Hessen and one of them flew for part of the journey; Adrian, Stefan, Johannes and Jonas left by car at four in the morning.
That congregation of supporters matched the tone struck by the teams’ leaders in the run-up. Vincent Kompany, speaking before the final, said the squad wanted the feeling of a success and that the cup had been on the players’ minds from the first day of training. Joshua Kimmich warned that outsiders measure teams by trophies but said he does not judge a season by a single match; he also spoke about the group’s appetite for training and the small comforts — like enjoying a hotel night to get rest — that help prepare for big games.
Harry Kane added urgency to Bayern’s message, saying that despite getting many things right over the season they must win the final to feel they have moved forward and avoid a lingering bad taste if they fail. That blunt assessment helps explain why Bayern, even after sealing the Bundesliga title earlier in the campaign, still treat the Pokalfinale as a defining night.
Broadcast arrangements for the Supercup are already set: the Franz-Beckenbauer-Supercup 2026 will be shown on Sat.1 and streamed free on and Joyn. Looking ahead, the immediate question is clear — the DFB-Pokal’s 83rd Pokalfinale in Berlin will decide whether August’s Supercup is a replay of the 2025 final or a title shot against the Bundesliga’s runner-up, most likely Borussia Dortmund given the table at present.
For now the scene returns to the players and the fans who followed them: Bayern left Stuttgart with a 2:1 win, Kane insisting the final in Berlin must still be won if the season is to feel like progress; Stuttgart’s supporters, thousands strong on Alexanderplatz and en route from across Baden‑Württemberg and beyond, will be waiting to see if their team can force a rematch on 22 August 2026.
