Defeat in Poland

ÖFB women suffer setback in European Championship campaign

Manuela Zinsberger

(Bild: APA/EXPA/UWE WINTER)

Austria's women's national team have suffered a setback on their way to a third consecutive European Championship appearance. The ÖFB team lost the first leg of the decisive 2nd play-off round in Gdansk against Poland 1-0 on Friday evening after a poor performance.

This means that captain Sarah Puntigam and Co. will have to win on Tuesday in the Generali Arena in Vienna if they want to secure their ticket for the 2025 finals in Switzerland.

In contrast to Austria's two 3:1 victories in the European Championship qualifiers this year, the Poles were clearly the better team this time. With their strength in switching play via world-class striker Ewa Pajor, they repeatedly caused problems for team boss Irene Fuhrmann's squad. Even when they conceded the decisive goal, when Marina Georgieva could only deflect the ball into her own goal after Natalia Padilla attempted to clear (57'). Pajor then hit the bar (65'). There were no top chances for the favorites for more than 90 minutes.

Eileen Campbell

(Bild: APA/AFP)

Fuhrmann used exactly the same starting line-up that had won the first leg of the play-off round in Slovenia 3-0. For the third international match in a row, midfielder Annabel Schasching played in the unfamiliar position of right-back. There was only one change from the 2-1 home win over Slovenia, with regular striker Eileen Campbell returning to the team and Nicole Billa starting on the bench.

Poland start with a top chance
There was a scare for the ÖFB team right at the start. Poland switched quickly after just over two minutes, Pajor had too much space and fed Adriana Achcinska, who narrowly missed the target from the best position. Austria then had significantly more possession, but found it difficult to create any goalscoring opportunities against the compact Polish defense, who were particularly adept at closing down the center. A harmless shot from captain Puntigam (12') was the most noteworthy goal before the break.

Team boss Irene Fuhrmann

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The hosts only came close to taking the lead once more. Unsurprisingly, again through a counter-attack. Nadia Krezyman finished too weakly (31'). The hoped-for ÖFB improvement after the break, as had been the case in Slovenia, did not materialize this time. Poland were dangerous on the counter-attack and thus secured victory. Pajor won a running duel with Georgieva and unselfishly fed Padilla, who was somewhat fortunate to finish on the slide. Georgieva was unable to save for goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger. Pajor should have added to her tally but failed to hit the bar.

The ÖFB team then increased the pressure at least a little. Barbara Dunst cut inside but missed the target by a wide margin (68'). Kinga Szemik had the best chance of the game, saving a shot from Lilli Purtscheller (74'). In the end, however, Austria were well served with the 0:1. It was the first defeat against Poland after three wins in a row. And as number 17 in the world against the world number 32.