Hats off to Austria’s national football team! It was impressive how Franco Foda’s team put the Ukraine under pressure over long stretches in Bucharest and deservedly won 1-0 (1-0). The “golden goal” was scored by Hoffenheim-Strmer Christoph Baumgartner (21st). “That is great, we can enjoy it. We have now made history, but it is not over yet,” said the 21-year-old, despite the grumbling. Baumgartner was injured in the 33rd minute with a head injury.
The EURO trip now continues – unfortunately without fans from home – in the extension and in London. The first entry into a European Championship round of 16 is a done deal. The location, the game date and the opponents have already been determined. On Saturday (9 p.m., ORF 1 and live ticker on nachrichten.at) There will be a knockout duel in the venerable Wembley Stadium with the convincing Italians who have won Group A without losing points or conceding a goal (more on page 5). The overall balance doesn’t even read that bad. In 37 international matches there were 16 successes for the Squadra Azzurra, eight draws and 13 triumphs for a selection of the FB, which has been waiting for a victory since 1960.
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“Is there anything nicer?”
Yesterday the red-white-red kickers were able to enjoy the stage win once – including coach Franco Foda, who made the wave with the 2000 fans. Several times the team was summoned back to the field by the fans after the final whistle. A load was taken from the actors’ hearts. Alaba & Co. are spared arithmetic games.
“I do believe that we can upset the Italians. If we play like we did against Ukraine, we can upset any opponent,” said Baumgartner before the first encounter with the four-time world champion and European champion from 1968.
Team boss Franco Foda thanked the goal scorer. “Despite the physical problems, he stayed on the field. After half an hour, however, the vertigo problems were so great that we had to replace him. But it shouldn’t be that bad in the long term.”
Florian Grillitsch celebrated the victory as “Man of the Match”. “We have always known what potential we have.” Like Baumgartner, he also kicks for TSG Hoffenheim. The anticipation for the round of 16 is huge: “Is there anything nicer than playing against Italy at Wembley? You’re working towards days like this.”
Goal keeper Daniel Bachmann is also already full of anticipation. “There is no bigger football venue than Wembley.” Team boss Foda also pays off a bit against the Italians. Perhaps the Squadra will become excessive after the Italian media had led them to believe how bad Austria’s team was. “Many had written us off, we showed it to the critics. I would not have thought that it would be so physically strenuous despite the long injury break,” said Marko Arnautovic.
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