3:2 against the Netherlands
Netherlands v Austria, LIVE from 6pm
What a crazy game! Austria's European Championship heroes defeated the Netherlands 3:2 in their final group match. As France and Poland (1:1) drew in the parallel match, Ralf Rangnick's team even won the group.
Madness! Austria finished the strong Group D with six points ahead of France (5) and the also promoted "Elftal" (4). The next game will now be against the Group F runners-up in Leipzig on Tuesday. Turkey, the Czech Republic and Georgia are possible opponents.
An own goal from Donyell Malen (6th), a header from Romano Schmid (59th) and an artful shot from Marcel Sabitzer (80th), with goals from Cody Gakpo (47th) and Memphis Depay (75th), ensured the first ÖFB victory over the Netherlands since 1994. It was already clear before the match that Austria would have been in the knockout phase even if they had lost by four goals.
Four changes to the starting eleven
This was probably one of the reasons why team boss Ralf Rangnick made four changes to the starting eleven compared to the 3-1 win against Poland. Christoph Baumgartner, Konrad Laimer and Phillipp Mwene, who had yellow cards and were therefore under threat of suspension in the round of 16, took their places on the bench, while Gernot Trauner was absent due to a muscle injury. Maximilian Wöber, Alexander Prass, Patrick Wimmer and Schmid were new additions to the starting line-up.
Own goal provides dream start
These changes were not to have a negative effect. Austria started strongly, as they had against Poland, pinned "Oranje" back and were able to celebrate early on. Prass had broken through on the left and his low cross was slid into his own goal by Malen. It was the Sturm Graz professional's second assist after the 2:1 against Poland. The ÖFB team have now scored in the first ten minutes of six of their seven international matches this year.
After that, Red-White-Red kept more possession, but the Dutch stepped up a gear. Tijjani Reijnders missed from a promising position (14th) and nine minutes later played an ideal pass to Malen, who shot past ÖFB goalkeeper Patrick Pentz in the far corner.
The Austrians responded with a long-range shot from Florian Grillitsch into the arms of "Elftal" goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (30') and a top chance in the 38th minute. After a corner, Verbruggen had trouble with a long-range shot from Marcel Sabitzer, a few seconds later Marko Arnautovic got to the ball at the five, but did not hit the ball properly. Shortly beforehand, Bonds coach Ronald Koeman had already switched to a more attacking option and brought on Xavi Simons for Joey Veerman.
When the second half kicked off, Austria were already virtual group winners thanks to the 0-0 draw between France and Poland, but 72 seconds later the situation changed. Grillitsch lost the ball deep in the opponent's half, the Dutch switched gears at lightning speed and Simon found Gakpo, who flicked the ball into the far corner.
Premiere goal from Schmid
Grillitsch quickly made up for his mistake. His cross landed right on target for Schmid, and the 1.68-metre tall Styrian headed in his 14th international goal for the national team. Stefan de Vrij's attempt to save failed. Soon after the 2:1, Baumgartner and Laimer came into the game and the Dutch opted for Wout Weghorst in the final stages - and that paid off for the time being. The striker crossed for Depay and the recently heavily criticized attacker converted.
Wimmer will miss the round of 16
Austria digested the new equalizer in no time at all. Baumgartner played Sabitzer free, and the Dortmund professional beat Verbruggen from an acute angle. The Dutch were unable to add to their tally and Austria's second successive European Championship victory - the last time this had been achieved at a major tournament was at the 1982 World Cup - was perfect. The only downer: Wimmer will miss the round of 16 through yellow card suspension.
Netherlands - Austria 2:3 (0:1)
Berlin, Olympiastadion, 71,000 spectators (sold out), referee Kruzliak (SVK)
Goals: 0:1 (6.) Malen (own goal), 1:1 (47.) Gakpo, 1:2 (59.) Schmid, 2:2 (75.) Depay, 2:3 (80.) Sabitzer
Yellow cards: none or Posch, Wimmer (suspended for the round of 16), Querfeld
Netherlands: Verbruggen - Geertruida, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake (65. Van de Ven) - Reijnders (65. Wijnaldum), Schouten, Veerman (35. Simons) - Malen (72. Weghorst), Depay, Gakpo
Austria: Pentz - Posch, Lienhart (63. Baumgartner), Wöber, Prass - Seiwald, Grillitsch (64. Querfeld) - Schmid (92. Weimann), Sabitzer, Wimmer (63. Laimer) - Arnautovic (78. Gregoritsch)
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