Image: HANS PUNZ (APA)
This means that the ÖFB selection is spared a duel with world champions and Nations League winners Spain as well as France and the Netherlands, who were also represented in pot one. Other opponents in Pool A4 are Iceland and Poland.
The best two teams in the four groups of the highest league category secure their ticket to the European Championship, while the third and fourth-placed teams have to try their luck in a two-stage play-off against representatives from Leagues B and C. The exact game dates have not yet been set, only the time slots for the group phase, which will be completed by mid-July, are known. The game will therefore be played twice between April 3rd and 9th, May 29th and June 4th and July 10th and 16th.
Chance for revenge
Against Germany there is a chance for revenge for the bitter 2-0 defeat in the 2022 European Championship quarter-finals in Brentford. In three duels so far with the sixth in the world rankings, nothing significant has come of it. There were defeats in away tests in 2016 (2:4) and 2018 (1:3). Captain Sarah Puntigam and Co. have also crossed swords with the Icelandic women in the recent past. In July 2023, a test in Wiener Neustadt was lost 0-1. The memories of the 2017 European Championship are much more positive, where a clear 3-0 win was achieved on the way to the semi-finals at the end of the group phase.
The last three meetings against Poland were not lost with two wins (the last in 2016 at the Cyprus Cup). Before that, the Poles had mostly had the upper hand, but this is no longer meaningful due to the strong ÖFB development in recent years. Austria was drawn from pot two, but is 17th in the ranking, just behind Iceland (15th). Poland is number 29 in the world. The Swiss ex-team goalkeeper Gaelle Thalmann acted as the “lucky angel” in Nyon.
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I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
