Sigh of relief after 3:1 victory

ÖFB jubilation: “The whole nation deserves it!”

There was no stopping the ÖFB players after the final whistle.

(Bild: AFP/Axel Heimken)

The door to the European Championship round of 16 is wide open after the 3:1 win against Poland. Christoph Baumgartner was jubilant: "The whole nation deserves this day and this victory!"

The "Krone" reports from Berlin

Final whistle. Ralf Rangnick clenched his fists, clapped his hands with his coaching staff and the substitutes, and the rest of the team hugged each other on the pitch before celebrating with the 20,000 fans, the sun even coming out and shining over the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

There was no stopping the ÖFB players after the final whistle.

(Bild: AFP/Axel Heimken)

Austria had achieved this sooooo important, necessary, much-needed victory against the Poles. And has thus arrived at this EURO. The door to the round of 16 is now open, with a point on Tuesday against the Netherlands in Berlin, they will definitely be through to the next round, and maybe three points will be enough. But "soccer professor" Rangnick will certainly not be thinking about that, as the team boss will also be setting his team up for victory on Tuesday. Especially as the self-confidence should now be there.

A lot is still possible
Even if the arithmetic has of course already begun and some computer models see Austria practically in the round of 16 - after the Netherlands' 0-0 draw against France, a lot is at stake on Tuesday:

• A win against the Netherlands would mean second place, assuming France beat Poland, who have already been eliminated - they would then face the runners-up from Group E in the round of 16 on July 2 in Düsseldorf.
• A draw or defeat would mean third place - depending on who finishes third in the group, they would then face the winner of Group B (Spain), C or E.

For the time being, we can still celebrate yesterday's win against Poland. "Oh how beautiful it is, we haven't seen anything like this for a long time" echoed through the Olympic Stadium, the red-white-red fans proudly and fervently sang "I am from Austria" after the end, before letting loose with "Sweet Caroline". Goalscorer Christoph Baumgartner: "The whole nation deserves this day and this victory!"

The unfinished business
And the team boss was also able to smile: "We're delighted with the win and a good performance over long stretches, we needed the significant improvement after the break. Now it's time to regenerate, regenerate, regenerate, the round of 16 is in our hands, that's good!"

Well, Holland still have a EURO score to settle: Three years ago, they lost 2-0 in the second group game in Amsterdam - time to turn things around!