Stumbled again

European Championship far away for ÖFB U21 after 2:2 against Cyprus

A bitter evening for the players of Austria's U21 team ...

(Bild: GEPA)

Cyprus has become a stumbling block for Austria's U21 national team for the second time on the road to the 2025 European Championship finals! Thanks to a last-minute equalizer in Ried on Tuesday, the ÖFB selection was able to avoid defeat, but lost valuable points in qualifying Group H with a 2-2 draw, just as they did in the 1-1 away draw against the underdogs. 

It was a major setback for team boss Werner Gregoritsch's squad in the battle for a top two place. The Austrians, for whom David Riegler scored in the 99th minute, are still third (8 points). Leaders Slovenia (12) lead the table, followed by France (9) with only four games played. In the fall, Yusuf Demir and Co. showed their mettle against the French with a sensational 2:0 home win in Ried.

"Mistakes that shouldn't happen!"
This time, the Innviertel Arena was not fertile ground. For long stretches, the favorites were unable to make much of an impact in offense in front of 1,400 spectators, including Christoph Lang, who was moved down from the A team. This was compounded by carelessness in defense. "If you get two or three shots on goal and they're goals, those are mistakes that shouldn't happen," said Gregoritsch in the ORF interview.

His team had been unusually nervous. Before the break, they had not got to grips with the offense at all. In general, the performance left a lot to be desired. "We need to have a lot more resources in terms of play. Today, the quality of the soccer wasn't good enough. You have to be that honest." The Styrian has not yet given up on his European Championship dream. "It's going to be very difficult, we're not giving up," said Gregoritsch.

Demir brought momentum after an hour
Before the break, only Pascal Estrada (15), Thierno Ballo (25) and Matthias Braunöder (34) were dangerous. At the other end, only a header from Irodotos Christodoulou (32) went narrowly wide. The visitors went in front immediately after the restart. After a counter-attack, Zanos Savva (52'), who had not attacked enough, scored from almost 20 meters into the far corner. After an hour, Demir came into the game and brought momentum. The Switzerland international went down the line in the penalty area and his cross was unfortunately deflected into the goal by goalkeeper Stefanos Kittos' own legs.

In the 90th minute, the home side failed to clear the ball after a corner and then lost sight of Giannis Satsias, who finished in the middle. Austria were more dangerous in the nine minutes of stoppage time than they had been in the previous 90 minutes. Nicolas Binder (93'), Demir (97') and Estrada, who prevented a shot from Bernhard Zimmermann (98'), missed before Riegler headed home from Demir's corner in the final action. The result was the same as the 1-1 draw against Denmark at the same venue on Friday.

The next qualifying match awaits on September 6 in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first and three best runners-up from the nine groups qualify for the European Championship in Slovakia, while the remaining six runners-up have to go through to the play-off.