VfB Stuttgart II

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- August 28, 2026 -- Fortuna Düsseldorf beat VfB Stuttgart II 1-0 on Friday night in the third matchday of Germany's 3. Liga, picking up its first win of the season after opening the campaign with two straight losses. Andreas Müller scored the only goal. Both clubs' coaches described the match as scrappy and low on quality, with Stuttgart II head coach Nico Willig calling the winning goal a classic bad-luck own-side error.

Düsseldorf, which dropped from the 2. Bundesliga last season, had rebuilt its squad with 16 to 17 new signings over the summer. Head coach Alexander Ende said the team played a solid preseason but stumbled out of the gate, losing a difficult away match at Mannheim before following it with a poor home performance. He said breaking that pattern required grinding, defensive work rather than open, attacking football, and that keeping a clean sheet mattered more than style points on the night.