The second-round matchups for the German Cup were set on Sunday afternoon, and are highlighted by juicy top-flight showdown that could see two or more young Americans face off on the field.
Atop the billing for the second round is a clash between Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Bayern. Joe Scally has been featuring heavily for the Foals so far in their first four league and cup games of the season, and could very well have the outside defender role locked down when the teams meet in Borussia-Park in late-October.
The Bavarians also featured a trio of Americans in their first round game, with Chris Richards, Malik Tillman and Taylor Booth all seeing substitute action. With Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann likely to feature more first-team regulars in what will be a tough matchup, the most likely of these three to see action would be Richards, should he not depart the team on a last-minute loan before the end of the transfer window.
Elsewhere in the second round, Borussia Dortmund and Giovanni Reyna will welcome 2. Bundesliga club FC Ingolstadt to the Westfalenstadion. German-American attacker Jalen Hawkins has also been seeing regular action for Ingolstadt this season, and could also participate in his team’s effort to score a major upset.
Another all-Bundesliga matchup in the round will see VfB Stuttgart head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo welcome FC Cologne to the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The American coach has had a mixed bag of league results so far this season, with only one win from three games, and might be in need of the boost from a deep run in the cup competition.
Here is the full list of American players who might be called upon to compete for their teams in the round.
VfL Osnabrück (Andrew Wooten) – SC Freiburg
SV Babelsberg – RB Leipzig (Tyler Adams, Jesse Marsch)
TSV 1860 Munich – FC Schalke 04 (Matthew Hoppe)
Borussia Mönchengladbach (Joe Scally) – FC Bayern Munich (Chris Richards, Malik Tillman, Taylor Booth)
SSV Jahn Regensburg (Jann George) – Hansa Rostock (Ryan Malone)
VfB Stuttgart (Pellegrino Matarazzo) – FC Köln
Borussia Dortmund (Giovanni Reyna) – FC Ingolstadt (Jalen Hawkins)
The slate of games is set to take place midweek, on Oct. 26-27.
