What to look out for in German football in 2025

What is happening domestically in German men's football?

The Bundesliga will return on January 10, after a shorter winter break than last year.

The big game to keep an eye on will be when Bayern Munich host Borussia Dortmund on April 12. With Bayern currently leading the table by four points ahead of the restart in 2025, the league is almost as close as it was this time last year. Bayern are keen to win back the title that was theirs for so long, while defending champions Bayer Leverkusen are just about keeping up, but look unlikely to repeat their remarkable heroics of the last campaign. The season finishes on May 17.

The German Cup quarterfinals will take place across the weekends of February 4 and 5 and 25 and 26. Leverkusen still have a chance to defend their title and have been handed a local derby against Cologne in the pick of the ties. Leipzig host Wolfsburg in a meeting of two former title winners, while third-division Bielefeld will be hoping to continue their memorable cup run against Werder Bremen. The semifinals will take place on April 1 and 2, before the final in Berlin on May 24, a week after the end of the Bundesliga season.

Is there a major women's tournament in 2025?

Absolutely! Euro 2025 is in Switzerland and 16 teams will compete in the tournament running from July 2-27. Germany are in Group C with Denmark and Sweden, and will face tournament debutants Poland in their opener on July 4.

New head coach Christian Wück is ushering in a new era, with the team playing at a major tournament without the legendary Alexandra Popp for the first time in 14 years. The former captain is amongst a host of key players to have hung up their international boots since the World Cup.

The Euro 2025 final is in Basel and Germany will hoping to go one better than they did last time out when they painfully lost in extra-time to hosts England, who they have avoided in the group stage draw.

Before then though, the Bundesliga title will be decided, with Eintracht Frankfurt and Leverkusen currently challenging both Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg. The league will return after a lengthy break on February 2, with league-leaders Frankfurt playing Leverkusen in the first game back. Bayern play Wolfsburg on March 16 and Frankfurt, in a potential title-deciding game, on April 13. This season concludes on May 11, with Leverkusen visiting Wolfsburg on the final day.

For Bayern and Wolfsburg, there's also the small matter of the Champions League, which returns for the quarterfinals in March (on 18-19 and 26-27), a full three months after the end of the group stages. The semifinals will follow in April (on 19-20 and 26-27) and this year's final is in Lisbon on May 24.

And what about the new men's European football schedule?

With the new European competitions format, there will now be two additional group stage games in January.

Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leverkusen and RB Leipzig will all play Champions League football on January 21 or 22, and on January 29. Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim will also play in the Europa League (on January 23 and 30). Plucky Heidenheim in the Conference League will avoid January games, but will play in the knockout playoff phase in Feburary (13 and 20) after just missing out on a top-eight spot that would have taken them automatically to the Round of 16.

For Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen, they should feature in the Champions League knockout playoffs which start in Feburary (11-12 and 18-19) before the familiar Round of 16 returns in the first two weeks of March. For Bayern, this year's competition has an added incentive with the final in Munich on May 31, giving the club the chance to redeem their lost 2012 final at home.

What is the new men's club competition coming in 2025?

In an already congested playing calendar, the Club World Cup will take place in the United States. It will be the first version of the competition to feature 32 teams and will run from June 14 to July 13, and leaving little room for the best players to take a break.

Germany has two teams involved, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Bayern are in a group with Auckland City, Boca Juniors and Benfica, and will play their opener against the Kiwi team on June 15. Dortmund start against Fluminense two days later on June 17, before playing Mamelodi Sundowns and then Ulsan HD.

The knockouts start on June 28 and the final will be on July 13.

Julian Nagelsmann's Germany are also playing aren't they?

Yes, Germany's men will be back in action in 2025. Their first order of play will be the Nations League quarterfinal against Italy, the result of which will dictate the rest of their year.

Germany will travel to Milan on March 20, before returning home for the second leg in Dortmund on March 23. The winner of that tie will host the Final Four tournament, set to take place on June 4 and 5, and unlike the quarterfinals will just be one game. The Nations League Final will be on June 8.

If Germany lose to Italy, their 2026 World Cupqualifying campaign will start on June 6 with a trip to Oslo to face Erling Haaland's Norway. Their other opponents in Group I will be Moldova, Estonia and Israel.

Beating Italy would see Germany move into a smaller World Cup qualifying group (Group A) with a later start. Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg would await them, in a group that begins on September 4.

Either way, their final qualifying game will be in November (16-18) and a spot at the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada will be secure if they finish first in their group. If they finish second, they will head into the playoffs (played in March 2026).

Edited by: James Thorogood and Kalika Mehta