0:1 – An own goal stood in the way of a point against France

It wasn’t meant to be. Austria’s national football team had no reason to complain about fighting spirit in the 0:1 (0:1) defeat against France in Düsseldorf – but it would have taken a perfect performance to put the French under complete pressure. And yet: This first appearance by the Austrian national team left us wanting more in every respect.

• Also read: The reactions after the ÖFB start into the European Championship

The first goosebumps moment happened even before kick-off: When, after the coin toss to choose the position, the two teams swapped their halves of the pitch, and Austria’s players collectively ran 60, 70 meters from the other half of the pitch towards the red-white-red wall behind the goal – there was no French player to be heard anymore.

The fans were in top form, celebrating and cheering on their team as if they had already won 3-0. At this point it was already clear that Austria was the winner in the stands. The 15,000 in the Merkur Spiel Arena were as strong as the 30,000 at the 2016 European Championship in France against Iceland.

Austria survived the French’s first phase of pressure, in which goalkeeper Patrick Pentz had to make a brilliant save against Kylian Mbappé, deflecting the ball into the side netting (6′).

The motto of the ÖFB selection was to stand close together and to prevent the French from playing quickly down the wings as best as possible. It was clear that this would not always work. It was, however, bitter that the goal was conceded at a time when the Austrians seemed to have prepared themselves particularly well. Then Phillipp Mwene made a mistake with an unnecessary pass back, which put the entire defence under pressure. Mbappe showed his world class dribbling in the penalty area. Maximilian Wöber unfortunately headed his cross into his own goal to make it 0-1 (38′). A game could not have been decided much more unluckily.

Baumgartner missed

Immediately before that, Christoph Baumgartner had Austria’s best chance of the game. France’s goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who plays for AC Milan in the Italian Serie A, was able to save the ball at the last minute. Why referee Jesus Gil Manzano did not award a corner will remain his secret.

In general, the Spanish referee was not a big deal in this game, even for OÖN rules expert Dieter Muckenhammer. His conclusion: “When in doubt, it was always France’s turn, and they also lacked a clear line. The two early yellow cards against Austria’s defenders Wöber and Mwene should have been given.”

At halftime, ÖFB team manager Ralf Rangnick called on the team not to let the deficit and the circumstances that led to it throw them off course. Nevertheless, after 55 minutes, the ÖFB team had to thank Mbappe for keeping them in the game. France’s top star usually blindly exploits chances like the one he had alone in front of ÖFB goalkeeper Patrick Pentz. This time the ball went just a few centimeters past the right corner.

Full risk after one hour

After an hour, ÖFB team manager Ralf Rangnick took a risk. By bringing on Gernot Trauner (for Wöber), Marko Arnautovic (for Michael Gregoritsch) and especially Patrick Wimmer (for Florian Grillitsch), the team tried to get into pressing situations even earlier.

The amount of running the Austrian team put in was enormous. They also managed to force the French to lose the ball a few times – but that wasn’t enough to create any real top chances. One consolation for the ÖFB team: No matter how far they get, they will hardly face an opponent stronger than France.