ÖFB women fought to a 1-1 draw in the test against Denmark

The ÖFB selection drew 1-1 with Denmark at the end of the training camp in Marbella on Wednesday and thus sold significantly better than the bitter 7-2 defeat against European champions England on Friday in Algeciras. Barbara Dunst took the lead in the 11th minute with her 12th international goal, while Bayern legionnaire Pernille Harder (52nd) equalized.

• Also read: Virginia Kirchberger: Proudly in the “100 Club”

Team boss Irene Fuhrmann kept her promise to rely on other players right from the start. Compared to the England game, there were six changes to the starting line-up. For example, goalkeeper Jasmin Pal, who recently lost her regular place at Cologne, played in only her fourth international match. In addition to Manuela Zinsberger, other proven players such as captain Sarah Puntigam, Eileen Campbell, Katharina Naschenweng and Marie-Therese Höbinger were initially only on the bench. Marina Georgieva was absent due to illness. This is also why Virginia Kirchberger made her 100th appearance in the team uniform.

15 minutes just according to Fuhrmann’s taste

From the start, the ÖFB women, led onto the field by Sarah Zadrazil, tried to show a reaction to the historic defeat. The first 15 minutes went exactly to Fuhrmann’s liking. Her team was well in the game, combining courageously from the back and pressing to force an individual mistake from their opponents, which made it 1-0. Dunst intercepted a hair-raising cross pass from Caroline Pleidrup, moved towards the goal and confidently finished with his left. Two minutes later, a header from Nicole Billa, who was deployed as a solo striker, was just blocked.

However, the momentum could not be sustained; the Danes took the initiative and were extremely dangerous on several occasions. Amalie Vangsgaard was denied by Pal and Harder’s follow-up shot went well over (25′). A shot from Caroline Möller landed on the top edge of the crossbar (26′), another over the goal (32′). Vangsgaard then missed another chance (35′), and Pal also made a mistake on a Möller shot, but was lucky that the ball didn’t end up in his own goal (40′).

Going into the European Championship qualification with a good feeling

After the restart, little changed in the game, Denmark remained more dangerous. Pal was able to make a great save in the corner in the 1-1 duel with Harder (50th). Two minutes later, Zadrazil’s club colleague in Munich finished after Thögersen’s Stangel pass from the five-pointer into the far corner. As a result, the World Cup round of 16 was a little closer to victory, but was no longer able to achieve it. For Austria, a well-taken and saved Höbinger free kick (89′) was the only really good opportunity in the second half.

This resulted in a draw in the direct duel, just like in the semi-finals of the 2017 European Championships after a goalless 120 minutes, where the Danes ultimately had the upper hand in a penalty thriller. In addition, Denmark and Austria have each won twice. Thanks to the draw against number 13 in the world, the Austrians can start the European Championship qualification in April with a good feeling. The draw for this will take place on Tuesday, the ÖFB squad will be drawn from pot two.