Hoeneß praised Stuttgart for their highly competitive performance as they advanced to the German Cup final.

Stuttgart rallied from a goal down in the 2025/26 German Cup semi-final to defeat Freiburg 2-1, thanks to goals from Windough and Thiago Thomas. Coach Hoeness stated in an interview that his team displayed excellent fighting spirit in the cup competition.

Freiburg took a corner in the 28th minute, and Matthias Ginter headed the ball into the box, where Eggestein volleyed it into the net, giving Freiburg a 1-0 lead.

In the 70th minute of the second half, Bilal Hannus dribbled forward and passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area, where Windav fired a low shot into the net, leveling the score at 1-1 for Stuttgart. In the 119th minute of extra time, Bouanani passed the ball back from the penalty area, and Thiago Tomás volleyed it past the defense to score.

Ultimately, Stuttgart defeated Freiburg 2-1 at home, successfully advancing to the final.

Stuttgart coach Uli Hoeneß said in an interview, "It was an extremely intense match, the atmosphere was incredibly tense, and the emotions were completely released towards the end. For me, with the more scoring opportunities we created, we deserved to go to Berlin for the final. My team showed a very fighting spirit in the cup competition, which deserves high praise."

Winndorf, who helped Stuttgart secure the victory, said, "I'm very happy that Thiago Thomas scored that goal in the final moments. It was a very tough game, and we had to fight with all our might. Now we'll be facing Bayern Munich in the final. They've beaten us three times this season, but we hope for a better day this time. Anything is possible in games like this."

In addition, Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller said, "It was a very dramatic game. We had plenty of opportunities to seal the victory earlier, but that's why scoring the winning goal before the final whistle was all the more exciting."

“One of the team’s strengths is that we remain calm in such intense matches, and we deserve to go to Berlin. Against Bayern Munich, we must deliver a top-level performance.”

Image source: Internet