ÖFB bad luck

Wöber after own goal: “I’m the dodel of the nation”

Maximilian Wöber faced the press the day after his fateful own goal against the French.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The day after the 1-0 loss to France at the European Championship in Düsseldorf, the ÖFB team had to come to terms with the situation - especially Maximilian Wöber. By his own account, the own-goal scorer had a sleepless night and decided to take part in the press conference on Tuesday after returning to Berlin. "After a game like that, where you're the laughing stock of the nation, it's not a bad idea to turn yourself in right away to get the whole thing out of the way," explained the Viennese (video above). 

Wöber had headed a sharp cross from Kylian Mbappe into his own goal. "I saw the ball relatively late, then acted intuitively and somehow put my head down. In hindsight, that was certainly the worse decision," said the 26-year-old.

Maximilian Wöber faced the press the day after his fateful own goal against the French.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Immediately after the match it was extremely emotional for me, something I've never experienced before, because you have the feeling that you've let an entire nation down.

Maxi Wöber

There were no accusations from his team-mates or team boss Ralf Rangnick - quite the opposite. "The whole team, the coaching staff and my friends have steered me in the right direction so that I'm positive again and I can chalk it up as a proud moment to have played for Austria at the European Championships and to have sung the Austrian anthem shoulder to shoulder with my friends," said Wöber.

Immediately after the game, the central defender was still very downcast. "It was a bitter evening for me personally. Immediately after the match, it was extremely emotional for me, something I've never experienced before, because you feel like you've let an entire nation down."

"It was a bitter evening for me."

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

"I can laugh again"
Wöber reported that his ÖFB colleagues were the first source of consolation. "Everyone came up to me in the dressing room and said the only right thing, that this is part and parcel of soccer and that we win and lose as a team." In the meantime, Wöber's mood has improved. "I'm now at a stage where I can laugh about certain memes or photos again."

It remains to be seen whether the ex-Rapid and Salzburg professional can redeem himself against Poland on Friday - it is quite possible that Gernot Trauner will be preferred to him. Should Wöber nevertheless get another chance, he wants to "show that I can do better. I don't think I'll score another one of those slapstick goals in the next few games. But going in and thinking you have to tear everything apart would also be wrong, that often backfires."

"Six-point game" against Poland
With or without Wöber - the ÖFB team will have to get some points on Friday against Poland, who have also started with a defeat. "If we want to go far and get through the group, it's a classic six-point game," said Wöber. The defender is prepared for an unpleasant opponent. "They are difficult to play against with their deep defensive block."

In addition, the Poles will in all likelihood be able to count on Robert Lewandowski again, who trained with the team for the first time on Tuesday after recovering from a muscle injury. However, Stefan Posch is relatively unperturbed by the prospect of a clash with the former world footballer. "We're not concentrating on individual players, but on ourselves," emphasized the Bologna kicker.

Like Wöber, Posch has no illusions about the starting position for Friday. "Now it's time to deliver against Poland and win, we don't need to talk much about it." The right-back and his colleagues recovered at the team hotel in Berlin on Tuesday and the training session planned for later that afternoon was canceled.