Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac has lavished praise on his young players for a stellar performance in their comprehensive 5-0 win over HEBC on Tuesday.
The BVB stormed into the second round of the 2026-27 DFB-Pokal as Samuele Inacio scored a brace, whereas Daniel Svensson and Fabio Silva also scored a goal apiece.
Julian Ryerson also forced an own goal from Janek Werde in the 33rd minute to open the floodgates as Dortmund made lightwork of their fifth-tier opponents at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.
Kovac made a slew of changes to his XI in order to rest many of his first-team stars, giving the young guns a chance to shine and they didn't disappoint.
He later revealed that the purpose of making wholesale changes in the game was to indeed hand the young contingent some valuable playing time.
Speaking to the press after the game, the Dortmund manager said:
"Of course, one of our goals was to give the boys some playing time."
While 35-year-old Alexander Meyer replaced Gregor Kobel in defense, Filippo Mane returned to defense while Joey Veerman was handed his first start for the club since joining last month.
Teen starlets Samuele Inacio and Mathis Albert flanked striker Fabio Silva as Kovac switched from his usual 3-4-1-2 to a unique 4-3-3 system for this one.
And it paid off handsomely, with Die Borussen running riot following a slow start and leading 4-0 at half-time.
More young guns such as Carney Chukwuemeka, Kaua Prates, Luca Reggiani and Konstantinos Karetsas were all subbed into the match after the break too.
However, Kovac reserved special puffery for Albert, who was making his first senior start for the club while Inacio bagged the first senior double of his career.
"In Mathis Albert, we had a 17-year-old in the starting lineup today, and he did well. One-on-one situations are his strong suit. Samu scored two goals, which is fantastic."
He further added that playing in front of a thronging crowd, away from home, was an experience unto itself for the rising stars of BVB.
"Among other things, we used this game to give them a chance to show themselves. There were forty-five thousand people at the stadium, which made it a special occasion for our young players."
Karetsas too made his cup debut for Dortmund while Veerman bagged his first assist in Black and Yellow colors.
Borussia Dortmund will learn their opponents for the second round of the cup on Saturday, 5 September.
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