Borussia Dortmund seals Champions League qualification, Stuttgart’s hopes hit a bump

By: Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press Posted: 1:18 PM CDT Sunday, Apr. 26, 2026

BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund sealed Champions League qualification on Sunday with an easy 4-0 win over a distracted Freiburg team in the Bundesliga.

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BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund sealed Champions League qualification on Sunday with an easy 4-0 win over a distracted Freiburg team in the Bundesliga.

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BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund sealed Champions League qualification on Sunday with an easy 4-0 win over a distracted Freiburg team in the Bundesliga.

Maximilian Beier, Serhou Guirassy and Ramy Bensebaini effectively decided the result in the first half hour, before substitute Fabio Silva completed the scoring late.

Dortmund ‘keeper Gregor Kobel denied Cyriaque Irié a consolation goal.

Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy, third from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

With three rounds remaining, Dortmund is assured of finishing among the top four to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

Freiburg coach Julian Schuster had made a host of changes to the team that suffered a bitter defeat against Stuttgart in the German Cup semifinals on Thursday.

Freiburg next faces Sporting Braga away for the first leg of their Europa League semifinal match.

Debut days

Dortmund coach Niko Kovač gave Samuele Inacio his first start and the 18-year-old Italian forward made the most of it, earning ovations when he went off in the 74th minute.

United States Under-17 forward Mathis Albert went on for the final minutes to make his Dortmund debut. The 16-year-old from Greenville, South Carolina, joined Dortmund’s academy in 2025 from LA Galaxy’s academy. and was part of the U.S. team at last year’s Under-17 World Cup.

Another youngster, the 18-year-old midfielder Rouven Tarnutzer, had already gone on late for his Freiburg debut.

Stuttgart stutters

Stuttgart’s hopes of Champions League qualification were tempered in a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen.

Ermedin Demirović canceled Jens Stage’s early goal for the visitors and just kept Stuttgart in fourth place on goal difference from Hoffenheim before they face each other for a high-stakes clash next weekend.