Sensation and huge celebration in Ried: U21 national team beats France 2-0

France’s U21 national team was by far the most valuable team – in terms of market value – to ever step onto the pitch in the Innviertel Arena. And the SV Ried stadium is already 20 years old, and top European teams such as PSV Eindhoven have already played in the Innviertel. In the fourth round of the U21 European Championship qualification, the Austrians with team boss Werner Gregoritsch welcomed the French with head coach Thierry Henry. A look at the bare numbers was enough to see who was the David and who was the Goliath in Ried. The Austrian starting eleven had a market value of 14.6 million euros, that of the French 218 million euros. And that despite the fact that the most valuable player – Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel with a market value of 50 million euros – initially only sat on the bench. However, the fact that market values ​​don’t score any goals should become apparent in the 90 minutes in Ried.

The Austrians had the first two top chances in front of 2,700 visitors. First, Thierno Ballo was sent off in the 21st minute after the French lost the ball in midfield. Visiting goalkeeper Restes fended off his good finish with a foot save. After the subsequent corner, Ballo again had the 1-0 lead. However, his attempt went wide to the right of the goal. About three minutes later the time had come. After another corner, Rapid defender Leopold Querfeld headed in, Paul-Friedrich Koller (Altach) headed in to give Austria a 1-0 lead. And the Austrians almost made it 2-0. Ex-Ried player Christoph Lang hit the bar with a remarkable long-range shot from just over 20 meters. The rebound landed at the feet of the surprised Yusuf Demir, who again only hit the aluminum. And France? It wasn’t until the 36th minute that the guests had their first real chance to score through Lens striker Elye Wahi.

The highly endowed guests came out of the break with momentum. After a few moments, Rayan Cherki missed a great chance to equalize after a solo effort. Austria goalkeeper Nikolas Polster parried the shot from close range. Then not much happened for a relatively long time. The Austrians defended in a disciplined manner and there was repeated applause from the stands.

Double pack from Koller makes fans cheer

In the 64th minute, many of the fans in Ried cheered. However, Ballo’s supposed 2-0 was disallowed due to offside. A right decision. Immediately before this action, Henry Mathys brought Tel into play. The French repeatedly played dangerously into the penalty area, but the big chances remained rare. Austria remained extremely dangerous on the counterattack and was unlucky again in the 68th minute. Manuel Polster tried it from a half-left position. His attempt bounced off the post and back onto the pitch. It was the third aluminum goal for the home team. In the 75th minute the ball finally landed in the net. After a corner, Ballo extended a remarkable overhead kick, Koller was once again spot on and scored his second goal. A standing ovation followed in the Innviertel Arena. The French’s final offensive achieved nothing. The Austrians even had the best chance. Substitute Bernhard Zimmermann only hit the bar. This statistic also went 4-0 to the home team. In the end, Austria celebrated this surprising and important victory. The fans sang “Austria again and again” and “oh, how beautiful that is.”

With seven points from four games, the Austrians are back in the race to qualify for the 2025 European Championship. The gap to France and Slovenia is two points. The Austrians will still play against both teams during the qualification.