Borussia Dortmund vs. Roma: Pre-season friendly build-up and live blog

Borussia Dortmund will take on Serie A giants Roma in their final pre-season clash of the summer on Saturday, following their morale-boosting 3-2 win against Arsenal last week, in which new signing Konstantinos Karetsas scored a stunning goal on his club debut.

Dortmund will welcome the Serie A side to Signal Iduna Park on 15 August (kick-off: 5.30pm CEST) for their traditional season opener. So far in pre-season, Dortmund have won three and lost two of their five matches, having spent time in Japan as part of their preparations.

Nico Schlotterbeck and Emre Can remain out injured as they continue to recover from their long-term issues, but head coach Niko Kovač otherwise has a full squad at his disposal. That includes FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finalists Julian Ryerson and Gregor Kobel, who returned to training ahead of the clash with Arsenal. 

Dortmund's Italian youngster Samuele Inácio caught the eye towards the end of 2025/26. - IMAGO/osnapix / Marcus Hirnschal

This game could feature BVB's upcoming Italian trio of Samuele Inácio, Filippo Mané and Luca Reggiani, while former Dortmund forward Donyell Malen now plays for I Giallorossi.

Roma, meanwhile, have had a mixed pre-season, winning one, drawing one and losing two of their four matches. Alongside Malen, their squad features other Bundesliga alumni in Evan Ndicka (Eintracht Frankfurt), Miguel Hermoso (Bayer Leverkusen), Konstantinos Koulierakis (Wolfsburg) and Manu Koné (Borussia Mönchengladbach).

A week after facing Roma, Dortmund will kick off their competitive campaign at home to defending Bundesliga and DFB Cup champions Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup (22 August). The 2026/27 Bundesliga season begins on the weekend of 28-30 August.

LIVE blog!

VS

Dortmund

Sat, 15.08 15:30

Roma

Friendly
Signal Iduna Park

Bundesliga Romans

Malen isn't the only Roma star with a past in Germany's top flight. Former Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka and ex-Wolfsburg man Konstantinos Koulierakis (pictured) are in their ranks, while they also boast former Gladbach midfielder Manu Koné.

© IMAGO/IPA Sport/ABACA

Kabar heads for Holland

One young talent who will have to wait to make his mark at Dortmund is Almugera Kabar, who has joined Dutch Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen on a season-long loan.

© IMAGO/DeFodi.de

Kovač delighted with young stars

The Dortmund boss liked what he saw from the likes of Karetsas, Gadou (pictured), Prates and Mané against the Gunners. "In the first half, you could see the qualities Kosta brings, we can see that he is a really good footballer," enthused Kovač. "Filippo also played a really good game today, the two defenders really cleaned up," he continued. "Filippo, but also Joane: That's pure power. That's real force." On Prates, he said: "You could see that he's very skillful on the ball, very fast, and has real power."

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Marcel von Fehrn

Settling in at BVB

New signings Konstantinos Karetsas (pictured) and Joane Gadou were both on target in Dortmund's recent friendly win over Arsenal, while Kauã Prates also appeared in that impressive performance. Gadou has played in all of their pre-season games so far, and looks ready for his first Bundesliga campaign.

© IMAGO/DeFodi.de

No El Mala transfer

BVB managing director Lars Ricken confirmed on Friday that Dortmund had been in talks with Cologne about potentially signing exciting Germany winger Saïd El Mala, but that a move will not go ahead: "[He's] is not a Dortmund player, and he will not become one this summer. Over the past few days, we held open discussions with the officials at Cologne, but they rejected our final offer. Dortmund will not submit another and will no longer pursue the transfer."

© IMAGO/Thiemo Rudolph

0:26

Will Malen haunt BVB?

Sold out

Dortmund have confirmed that all 81,365 tickets have been sold for Saturday's friendly, which forms part of Borussia's official season-opening event. Both the men's and women's teams will introduce their new signings to the Signal Iduna Park crowd, with Dortmund Women set to face their Roma counterparts at the next-door Stadion Rote Erde at 1pm CEST.

© IMAGO/Maximilian Koch

Malen returns

Donyell Malen is back at his old stomping ground this weekend, having made 132 appearances for Dortmund between 2021 and 2025. The Dutchman, who joined Roma back in January, is only the fifth player to have represented both these clubs, after Jürgen Schütz, Thomas Häßler, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mats Hummels.

© IMAGO/Bahho Kara

Roma back at Europe's top table

Dortmund could meet Roma again in the UEFA Champions League this season after the Giallorossi qualified for Europe's premier club competition for the first time since 2018/2019. Gian Piero Gasperini, who led Atalanta to victory in the 2023/2024 UEFA Europa League, guided the club to a third-place finish in Serie A in his first season in charge.

© IMAGO/Gino Mancini/IPA Sport

'We've made progress'

Sunday's victory over Arsenal suggests Dortmund are right on track in their preparations for the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup against Bayern. Head coach Niko Kovač is certainly impressed with his side's efforts in pre-season, telling reporters after the 3-2 win: "There are still a few things to correct, but we've made progress."

© CARLOS JASSO

Hello and welcome!

Thank you for joining us for build-up and live match coverage of Borussia Dortmund's pre-season friendly with Roma as we approach the start of the 2026/27 season.

About the players

19

Konstantinos

Karetsas

Midfielder

Borussia Dortmund

8

Felix

Nmecha

Midfielder

Borussia Dortmund

About the clubs

Borussia Dortmund

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