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Red Devils drop two test matches as they prepare for the new season


Two 1. FCK players stand together on the field.

New Red Devil Ivan Prtajin, right, and the rest of the team fell to SSV Reutlingen and FC St. Gallen on Saturday, as they get ready for the 2025/26 season. (Facebook/1. FC Kaiserslautern)

1. FC Kaiserslautern lost both games at a mini test tournament in Reutlingen on Saturday, falling to host SSV 2-1 and Swiss first-division side FC St. Gallen 2-0.

Daniel Hanslik scored the 1-0 off a Luca Sirch free kick, but the Red Devils couldn’t put anything else on the scoreboard against Reutlingen’s defense. Konstantinos Makropoulos scored both goals for the fifth-division team.

Against St. Gallen, FCK played tough, and Mahir Emreli produced a pair of scoring chances. But only FCSG found the back of the net, with Alessandro Vogt netting both goals for the Swiss team.

FCK coach Torsten Lieberknecht tested a variety of players and formations over both matches.

Midfielder Semili Sahin has joined the Red Devils from Elversberg, while defender Jan Gyamerah went the other direction to the Saarland club after one year in Kaiserslautern.

Next up for Kaiserslautern is a preseason friendly against English fourth-division side Notts County FC at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Fritz Walter Stadium’s Field No. 4, before the team heads to northern Italy on Sunday for a training camp.

The 2025/26 second-division season gets underway for the Red Devils on Aug. 3, when they travel to Hannover. The home opener at Fritz Walter Stadium kicks off at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 9 against Schalke 04.

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