At the beginning there was a brief approach to the magical Old Trafford Stadium (walking distance), at 4 p.m. Austria’s women’s soccer team manager Irene Fuhrmann and captain Viktoria Schnaderbeck answered the reporters’ questions in the packed Press Conference Room, starting at 4.45 p.m the final training, which media representatives had to leave after 15 minutes.
When asked about the match plan for today’s EURO opening match against co-title favorites England, Fuhrmann easily smiled away. “Of course I can’t reveal that,” said the 41-year-old. “We want to be very courageous – compact and united.”
So similar to the recent duel with the “Lionesses” in Sunderland, where Austria lost 0-1 in front of almost 10,000 spectators after an ambitious performance in the World Cup qualification in November 2021.
The European football union UEFA also failed to look at Fuhrmann’s cards yesterday. The prospective ÖFB line-up communicated on the official EURO website was quite embarrassing because it featured the unfortunate Lisa Kolb. So the 21-year-old striker from Vöcklabruck who will miss the tournament after a positive corona test.
The absence of Maria Plattner, who scored four goals in her last five country matches, is also very painful. “It was a shock at first, but we stand together as a team. We must and will look ahead,” emphasized Schnaderbeck, who reported fit after recovering from a knee injury.
The 31-year-old from Graz expects England “with enormous force” – and supported by an outstanding record. The Brits have won 12 of their last 14 country matches and lost none. In the immediate preparation there were three victories – 3-0 against Belgium, 4-1 against the defending champions Netherlands and 4-0 in Switzerland.
Austria’s number one, Manuela Zinsberger from FC Arsenal, has to be prepared for a lot of work. But that has never bothered the 26-year-old goalkeeper.
Source: Nachrichten
