Before the clash against Poland

“Just a matter of the head”: Seiwald doesn’t want to hear any excuses

Nicolas Seiwald in a duel with N'Golo Kante.

(Bild: AFP/APA/OZAN KOSE)

Nicolas Seiwald worked a lot on his upper body muscles last season, his first in the German Bundesliga. The RB Leipzig midfielder's physique will be particularly challenged on Friday (6 p.m.) in Austria's key European Championship match against Poland. "We know that it's going to be intense and a lot of tackling," explained the 23-year-old on Wednesday at Austria's European Championship camp in Berlin. 

Seiwald covered 11.7 kilometers in the opening game against France (0:1) on Monday - the best figure in the ÖFB team. The following day, the Salzburg native followed his routine: strength training for the upper body, then on the bike, rolling out, stretching and a bit of swimming. On Wednesday, light running units and ball training were already back on the program.

"I feel relatively fit again now," said Seiwald. The fact that the Poles have one more day to recover after their opening game on Sunday against the Netherlands (1:2) is a "small advantage" for their opponents. "But then it's often a matter of the head," emphasized Austria's perennial favorite, who has always played through in the past 16 international matches. "If you tell yourself you're fit, then you're fit."

Trauner could be important
The neo-legionnaire, who unlike the ÖFB team has not yet become a regular in his debut season in Leipzig, says the analysis is also good for his head. Against France, the "verticality" in the game was sometimes missing. He himself could have looked for forward passes more often, said Seiwald. "We weren't 100 percent effective against the ball either. If we bring that onto the pitch on Friday, I'm convinced we'll get the win."

Gernot Trauner

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Gernot Trauner could also contribute to this. The Feyenoord Rotterdam central defender, who came on as a substitute for own goal scorer Maximilian Wöber at the start of the European Championship, is a candidate for the starting line-up, as is winger Patrick Wimmer. "We've already seen in the game against France how Gernot can help us - especially with his strength in tackles, but also with his verticality," said Seiwald. "He has a really good build-up play. He can help us with his forward passes."

Who will play alongside Seiwald?
Against Kylian Mbappe and Co., the ÖFB team actually had slightly more possession in the end with 51 percent. "The game against Poland will be a bit different, a bit more duel-oriented," said Seiwald. "Poland will run at us more than the French, but we're prepared for that." His role would not really have changed as a result of the withdrawal of his team-mate and club colleague Xaver Schlager, who has a knee injury. "I try to perform in every game and fulfill my duties."

It remains to be seen who will play alongside him against Poland. In the opening game, the ball-safe Florian Grillitsch played in Schlager's position. However, team boss Ralf Rangnick could also order captain Marcel Sabitzer or Konrad Laimer back into the defensive midfield center and put Wimmer in the starting eleven instead of Grillitsch. In any case, Seiwald is undisputed. "It's extremely important for me that the confidence is there and that I get the playing time that I didn't get in Leipzig," said the Kuchler. "That gives me confidence for the next few games."