Dark horse Austria beats Holland and wins Group D

First considered the dark horse, now even the group winner: Austria continues to impress at the European Championships in Germany, winning a spectacular clash against the Netherlands.

Even before this European Championship, there was great euphoria surrounding the Austrian national team. This excitement is now set to grow even further: Austria beat the Netherlands 3-2 in a spectacular duel and sensationally won Group D.

The impressive thing about it: The victory of Red-White-Red against the favorites from the Netherlands is well deserved. As in the first two group matches, the Austrians started furiously, and as against Poland, they were rewarded for it. In the 6th minute, Alexander Prass played the ball sharply from the left into the middle, where the Dutch goal scorer Donyell Malen put it in his own net.

Koeman gambles away

While the Austrians celebrated, Malen’s own goal symbolized an extremely confused start to the Dutch. National coach Ronald Koeman surprised everyone beforehand with a new line-up: In contrast to the appealing France game, Koeman left Denzel Dumfries, Jeremie Frimpong and Xavi Simons on the bench and put in Lutsharel Geertruida, Donyell Malen and Joey Veerman.

The poker did not work: Frimpong’s substitute Malen scored an own goal, Simons’ replacement Veerman had an evening to forget: The PSV midfielder was completely overwhelmed by the Austrians’ pressing and lost every second ball.

After 35 minutes, Koeman pulled the emergency brake: the national coach took the pitiful Veerman off the pitch early and brought Simons on. It was only then that the Netherlands found their way into the game. The Oranje had a good opportunity at the end of the first half, but Max Wöber saved on the line and thus the Austrian lead at half-time. Shortly after the break, the red-white-red lead was over: in the 47th minute, Xavi Simons set up Cody Gakpo, who curled the ball into the net from the left in the style of Mattia Zaccagni.

Not to defeat Austria

What followed was probably the most impressive part of the Austrian victory. Ralf Rangnick’s team was not impressed by the increasingly strong Dutch, fended off a few dangerous chances and took the lead again a good ten minutes later: After a quick attack, it was Bremen legionnaire Romano Schmid who sank the ball.

And in the final quarter of an hour, there was a sense of déjà vu: the Dutch equalised again, and the Oranje suddenly seemed to have the advantage again. And Austria struck back again: Marcel Sabitzer powered through on the left and hammered the ball past Bart Verbruggen into the sky.

After the score was 3:2 with about 10 minutes to go, the game was over. As against Poland, Austria impressed not only with a strong tactical performance, but also with its physical strength. While the Dutch seemed exhausted towards the end, Austria were able to maintain their pace. In the end, the Netherlands had to be happy that the defeat was not even greater.

Sabitzer and Schmid delighted

“Our goal was to advance, we achieved that and we will enjoy it,” said goal scorer Sabitzer after the game. The midfielder, who lost the Champions League final just a few weeks ago, was enthusiastic about the mood in the team. “In football, things often move quickly, you have ups and downs. The team supports me well,” he said. And continued:

With the victory against the Oranje, Austria pulled off another surprise: Because France only played 1:1 against Poland in the parallel match, Ralf Rangnick’s team will advance to the round of 16 as group winners. The second-placed team in Group F will be waiting there – Turkey seems realistic, but the Czech Republic and Georgia are also possible. “No matter who comes, we’re playing for victory,” said goalscorer Schmid. And it seems clear: After the strong group phase, the Austrians are suddenly likely to go into the game as favorites.

Netherlands – Austria 2:3 (0:1)
Berlin. – 68,363 spectators. – Referee Kruzliak (SVK).
Tore: 6. Malen (own goal) 0:1. 47. Gakpo 1:1. 59. Schmid 1:2. 75. Depay 2:2. 80. Sabitzer 2:3.
Netherlands: Bridge; Geertruida, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Aké (66. Van de Ven); Reijnders (66. Wijnaldum), Schouten, Veerman (35. Simons); Malen (72. Weghorst), Depay, Gakpo.
Austria: Pentz; Posch, Wöber, Lienhart (63. Querfeld), Prass; Seiwald, Grillitsch (63. Laimer); Wimmer (63. Baumgartner), Sabitzer, Schmid (92. Weimann); Arnautovic (78. Gregoritsch).
Remarks: Netherlands complete, Austria without Trauner (injured). 83. Goal by Baumgartner not recognized (offside).
Warnings: 32. Posch. 33. Wimmer (suspended in the round of 16). 94. Querfeld. (abu/sda)

The report on the other game: