Tooor! European Championship qualification: Austria versus Estonia ends 2-0

The goals were scored by Konrad Laimer (26th) and Philipp Lienhart (39th). The ÖFB selection thus retained the chance of being drawn from one of the first two draw pots in the European Championship draw on December 2nd in Hamburg. Tallinn. After eight qualifying games, the Austrians have 19 points. If the Belgians don’t win at home against Azerbaijan on Sunday, the ÖFB team would even be group winners.

Team boss Ralf Rangnick sent his first set onto the field in Tallinn in front of around 3,000 spectators, including around 500 ÖFB fans. Laimer was not spared either. The frequent player from Bayern Munich operated in the five-man midfield in the offensive center, while Christoph Baumgartner came on the right wing. As a solo leader, Michael Gregoritsch was given preference over record national player Marko Arnautovic. In addition to captain David Alaba, who surpassed Andreas Herzog with his 104th international appearance and is now second on the ÖFB list behind Arnautovic, Lienhart, who was recently injured, played in central defense.

The pitch was a challenge; the pitch in the A. Le Coq Arena was not in good condition at two degrees below zero. According to the Estonian association, the existing pitch heating was not switched on because otherwise the pitch would have become too soft.

The hosts found their first big chance. Georgi Tunjov played the ball to the far corner. There, Vlasiy Sinyavskiy managed to maneuver the ball over the goal from very close range (5th). On the other side, left-back Maximilian Wöber fired the first warning shot (9th). A volley from Gregoritsch couldn’t surprise Estonia goalkeeper Karl Hein, Arsenal’s third goalie (19′). Estonia, 118th in the FIFA world rankings, 93 positions behind Austria, became dangerous again after a Lienhart bad pass, but Markus Poom shot past the far corner (25th).

In return, the Austrians celebrated the 1-0 win after a strong combination. Baumgartner found Xaver Schlager after a quick dribble on the left side. The Leipzig legionnaire served Laimer in the center, who scored his fourth goal in his 31st international match. Lienhart followed up less than fifteen minutes later. The Freiburg defender headed in at the near corner after an Alaba corner. For the 27-year-old it was his first goal in the senior national team.

Laimer was allowed to change at the break, and Arnautovic came in place of the midfielder in the center of the attack. Gregoritsch moved back to the ten position in his 50th international match. The Freiburg striker missed after a pass from Xaver Schlager (53′) and made room for another attacker, Sasa Kalajdzic, ten minutes later. Instead of Baumgartner, Rangnick brought Bremen’s Romano Schmid (63′), and in the finish he gave Rapids Matthias Seidl his second international appearance (76′). Wöber shot over the goal (70th), Lienhart missed the chance for his second goal after a free kick cross from Alaba (91st).

Austria still won the fourth duel with Estonia. In March in Linz they barely managed to win 2-1 after being 1-0 down. Gregoritsch scored the winning goal in the 88th minute. In the northern Baltics, the Rangnick team was spared another shiver despite sub-zero temperatures. The ÖFB team has only lost one of the last eleven international matches, and in the last twelve they always managed at least one goal. They are unbeaten in five games in a row away from home. The next test will be on Tuesday at the end of the year in a test in Vienna, EM host Germany.

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