The Austrian national football team achieved their first victory at Euro 2024. After the undeserved loss to France in the first round, Ralf Rangnick’s men were able to show their full potential and impress with an expressive 3-1 victory over Poland. The duel in Berlin was almost entirely under the dictation of the “eagles”, who took the lead as early as the 8th minute through Trauner. The Poles, however, found the strength to level the score before the break through Zielinski.
However, there was no sign of the team’s strong moments after the break, when the Austrians were absolute masters of the “Olympiastadion”, scoring through Baumgartlinger and Arnautovic from a penalty.
In this way, Marcel Sabitzer and company increased their chances of progressing to the next phase, while after their second defeat, Poland could also mathematically fall out depending on the outcome of the Netherlands-France match.
Austria started this match much more aggressively. The Poles were forced to act defensively deep in their own half. Thus, the first accurate shot in the match was not long in coming, when Posch decided to test Wojciech Szczesny’s vigilance.
The Austrians’ active play was rewarded and they took the lead after just eight minutes at the Olympiastadion. Poland’s defense did not do its job on a Mvène cross, which left Trauner completely unmarked, and he headed the ball home unstoppably into the “team’s” net.
Intoxicated by what was happening in the German capital, Ralf Rangnick’s boys could quickly double their lead in the next attack, but Arnautovic’s final shot did not reach its final destination.
The Polish national team had huge claims against the referee Yumur Meler, after their captain Zieliński shot powerfully into Posch’s hand, but there was no penalty signal from the Turkish referee.
The offensive quartet of the Poles began to play at a higher and higher tempo, and in the 19th minute Nikola Zalewski was left unmarked on the far post. The pass to the Roma midfielder should have ended in a goal, but his shot went high over the bar.
The Austrians seemed not to take note of the increasing Polish pressure and thus logically the score was leveled in the 29th minute. From the second cross, Zieliński managed to find Jan Bednarek on the penalty spot. The defender shot powerfully into the body of an opponent’s defender, and lurking nearby was Krzysztof Piatek, who reminded himself with a flawless shot for 1-1.
“Appetite comes with eating,” was the maxim on which Michal Probierz’s men were definitely lying, as they went in search of a complete turnaround before the break. However, this desire of theirs could have played a bad joke on them, as the Austrians caught them on a lightning counterattack in the 38th minute. Then, in a numerical superiority situation, Zabitzer received the ball in a good position. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder made a feint and shot, but the ball failed to get past Szczesny and the three Polish players standing next to him.
The end of the first half belonged to the Poles, who had another scoring opportunity. Again at the center of events was Piotr Zieliński, who curled the ball well from a free kick, only to see an excellent reaction from Patrick Pentz.
A big problem befell Ralf Rangnick and the Austrian national team after goalscorer Trauner suffered an injury from which it seemed he could not recover. So Kevin Danso was forced to take his place, who has gained popularity in recent days, unintentionally breaking the nose of French superstar Kylian Mbappe.
The big event for the Poles happened after exactly an hour of football in Berlin, when their leader Robert Lewandowski finally made his sixth appearance at a major sporting forum for his homeland. He appeared in place of Adam Buksa.
After Rangnick’s changes, Austria had a new inspiration in their performance on the pitch, and this drive also led them to their second goal against the Poles. The substitute Prass developed serious speed on the flank, then continued for Christoph Baumgartlinger, who was in the center. The mobile midfielder reached the arc, then sent an extremely well-measured shot, which led to delirium among all the fans of the “eagles”.
Austria could have decided everything in this match, after a great opportunity opened up for Wimmer in the 75th minute. He then had too much free access through the center of the Polish defense, and Baumgartlinger’s pass caught him in an extremely good position. However, his shot was reflected in the best way possible by Szczesny.
And if luck had covered the “team” a little earlier, there was no escape in the 77th minute. Arnautovic fought for the first ball around the center, and this turned into a leading pass for Marcel Sabitzer. The star of the “Wunderteam” advanced alone against Szczesny, forcing the Juventus goalkeeper to trip him with… his head, resulting in a penalty for the symbolic guests. The captain, Arnautovic, stood behind the ball, didn’t flinch from the tense situation, and increased the lead to 3-1.
In the remaining minutes until the end of the match, the Poles’ guard clearly dropped. Probierz’s team couldn’t handle the Austrians’ varied attacks. During several offensive moves, Posch and Konrad Laimer made big blunders for them.
June 25th will be the big finale of events in Group D, when the matches Poland-France and Netherlands-Austria will be played at the same time.
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