Victory in Nations League
LIVE from 4pm: Will Austria win in Kazakhstan?
Austria have taken the next step towards promotion to League A of the Nations League! In Kazakhstan, the ÖFB team picked up the three points they had planned with a commanding 2-0 win on Thursday and moved up to first place in the group for the time being!
Christoph Baumgartner (15th) and Michael Gregoritsch (25th) quickly opened up a reassuring lead in Almaty. After Aleksandr Marochkin (23) was shown red, the Kazakhs were down to ten players for a long time.
Back in the top league next year?
Team boss Ralf Rangnick's side can make everything clear in the race for group victory on Sunday in front of a home crowd at the end of the Nations League. A win over Slovenia in Vienna (6 p.m.) would see the Austrians secure promotion on the basis of their head-to-head record and could once again compete with the big nations in the top league next year.
Much had been said before the departure to the east about the hour-long journey and the associated travel stresses. The last excitement before boarding the charter plane came from team boss Ralf Rangnick himself. His monologue to "clarify a few things" also surprised the ÖFB top brass already waiting at the airport.
"Our focus is on the game!"
The players themselves were unimpressed. Rangnick himself said on ORF before kick-off: "It was time to make a few things clear and correct." This should have no effect on the team. "Our focus is on the game."
In minus five degrees, Austria started with Gregoritsch up front and Marko Arnautovic on the bench. Marcel Sabitzer did not appear in the squad due to stomach problems. Patrick Wimmer took his place on the outside left, with Alexander Prass playing behind him. As announced, Alexander Schlager started in goal.
Outsiders under constant pressure
In the Zentralstadion, which was less than half full with 9,753 spectators - around 170 Austrian fans had made the long journey - Austria were keen to put the underdogs under constant pressure.
The red-white-red pressing was effective, but Austria did not get any real chances in the opening minutes. The Kazakhs sought their luck through quick counter-attacks and tried to show the compactness they had already shown against Norway (0-0) and Slovenia (0-1). After just under a quarter of an hour, however, the attempt failed.
First goal for an ÖFB team on Kazakh soil
After a solo run, Wimmer first appeared dangerously in front of the Kazakh goalkeeper, before Baumgartner profited from a mistake by Marochkin, hooked a Kazakh and scored to make it 1-0. It was the first goal ever scored by an ÖFB team on Kazakh soil. The matches in Astana in 2011 and 2012 ended 0-0 in the European Championship and World Cup qualifiers.
The number 107 team in the FIFA rankings tried to respond, captain Askhat Tagybergen tried from long range (20th) and Schlager was called upon for the first time. The game continued in quick succession. Again it was Baumgartner who picked up the pace after Marochkin's next mistake. The central defender was the last man to hold back the Leipzig professional and was sent off with a red card by Romanian referee Marian Barbu. Gregoritsch unerringly dispatched the subsequent free-kick into the goalkeeper's corner with his left foot. Like Baumgartner, it was the Freiburg striker's 18th goal in a national team shirt.
Third goal was in the air several times
The Kazakhs were now really wobbling and Wimmer almost made it 3:0 seconds after the restart. The Austrians then took their foot off the pedal, but remained unchallenged. In the final minutes before the break, a third goal was once again in the air. First, Baumgartner laid off for Wimmer, who hammered the ball over the crossbar (41'). Then Konrad Laimer was denied by keeper Stas Pokatilov and Wimmer struck the bar with the rebound (45').
The Austrians did not let up against their decimated opponents after the break. Kazakhstan did not want to settle, but offered space as a result. They did not take advantage of them.
Weimann shot over in stoppage time
Rangnick made his first substitution after just over an hour, bringing on Phillipp Mwene and Matthias Seidl for Stefan Posch and Konrad Laimer. Baumgartner, Wimmer and Romano Schmid also came off early, with Junior Adamu, Kevin Stöger and Andreas Weimann taking over. Austria now played out the compulsory minutes. Adamu missed a header chance (78'), Weimann shot over in stoppage time.
The result:
Kazakhstan - Austria 0:2 (0:2)
Almaty, Ortalyk Stadium, 9753 spectators, referee Barbu (ROU)
Goals: 0:1 (15.) Baumgartner, 0:2 (25.) Gregoritsch
Red card: Marochkin (Kazakhstan, 23rd/emergency brake)
Yellow card: Vorogovskiy
Kazakhstan: Pokatilov - Astanov, Kasym, Darabayev (57. Tapalov), Marochkin, Vorogovskiy - Islamhan (25. Zhumakhanov), Zaynutdinov (68. Pairuz), Tagybergen, Samorodov (68. Kenzhebek) - Aymbetov (46. Karimov)
Austria: A. Schlager - Posch (64. Mwene), Danso, Lienhart, Prass - Seiwald, Laimer (64. Seidl) - Schmid (77. Weimann), Baumgartner (72. Adamu), Wimmer (72. Stöger) - Gregoritsch
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