Bitter disappointment

0:1 against Poland! Austria misses out on the 2025 World Cup

All the running and fighting has been in vain - with the 0:1 against Poland, Austria has missed out on qualifying for the 2025 World Cup ...

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The dream of a third consecutive European Championship appearance has been dashed and Austria's women's national soccer team will only be able to watch the 2025 finals in Switzerland as spectators!

After reaching the semi-finals in 2017 and the quarter-finals in 2022, the decisive play-off round of qualifying against Poland was the end of the line. As in Gdansk, Ewa Pajor and Co. won 1:0 against the Austrian team in Vienna's Generali Arena on Tuesday and secured their first European Championship ticket with a 2:0 win.

In front of just 3,200 spectators at Austria's home stadium in Vienna, Lilli Purtscheller in particular had the chance to decide the game, but missed four opportunities. At the other end, however, the Polish side, who were by no means just defensive-minded, were also strong and scored in stoppage time through Pajor (94'). Natalia Padilla had scored in the first leg. They thus gained impressive revenge for the two 3-1 defeats against Austria in the group stage of the European Championship qualifiers.

(Bild: GEPA)

(Bild: GEPA)

ÖFB starting eleven unchanged
As expected, team boss Irene Fuhrmann did not change her starting eleven compared to the first leg. The opening minutes belonged to the home side, who came close to a dream start. However, Purtscheller failed to hit the ball properly after a Dunst cross (3rd). The best chance before the break, however, quickly fell to the Poles, who were not just defensive-minded: Pajor set up Padilla in a combination, whose shot was saved by Manuela Zinsberger with a strong foot save. Ewelina Kamczyk's follow-up shot landed in the far post (7').

(Bild: GEPA)

(Bild: GEPA)

This unsettled the ÖFB squad. Suddenly, numerous mistakes crept in again, but they were not punished. In the 28th minute, there was almost a copy of the 3rd minute: Purtscheller again failed to finish properly after a Dunst cross. At the other end, there was not much missing from a Pajor shot (34'). The following phase up to the break clearly belonged to the hosts, who piled on the pressure. Verena Hanshaw shot over, Eileen Campbell failed to beat Poland goalkeeper Kinga Szemik before Emilia Szymczak was able to clear for a corner (42') - and Purtscheller failed to score again (43').

Dunst out injured
Immediately afterwards, Julia Hickelsberger-Füller was substituted for Barbara Dunst, who had injured her right knee. After the restart, Campbell (46) and Poland's Martyna Wiankowska (49) missed good opportunities. The game then lulled a little before the Austrians clearly took command after just over an hour and pinned their opponents back in their own half.

Purtscheller shot over after a fine individual move (66') - before it was over for her. Viktoria Pinther came on for her in the 77th minute and Laura Feiersinger replaced Marie Höbinger in an attempt to revitalize the attack. However, there were no more top opportunities despite a period of pressure. In the end, only the vociferous Polish fans were allowed to cheer, including Pajor's match-winning goal from a counter-attack. The world No. 32 eliminated the world No. 17.

(Bild: GEPA)

(Bild: GEPA)

The result:
Austria - Poland 0:1 (0:0)
Vienna, Generali Arena, 3200 spectators, referee Projkovska (MKD)

Goal: 0:1 (94') Pajor

Yellow cards Austria: Purtscheller, Schasching

First leg: 0:1 - Poland qualified for Euro 2025 in Switzerland with an aggregate score of 2:0

Austria: Zinsberger - Schasching (72. Wienroither), Georgieva, Kirchberger, Hanshaw - Zadrazil, Puntigam - Purtscheller (77. Pinther), Höbinger (77. Feiersinger), Dunst (44. Hickelsberger-Füller) - Campbell

Quotes:

 Irene Fuhrmann (ÖFB team manager): "If you don't score a goal in two games, you don't deserve it. In the end, we have to look at how many of our players are top performers at their clubs and how many are not at 100 percent. They're all cogs that play into it. We never got into a flow. Nevertheless, you also have to look at the fact that qualifying is now more difficult than ever before. We were on target in the basic round, but unfortunately not in the playoff phase."
On her future: "I have to think about it myself, there is an employer, the team should also be consulted. It's an absolute passion of mine (to be ÖFB team manager). But at the end of the day, the team comes first."

Verena Hanshaw (ÖFB player): "It's bad, but the performance wasn't good enough. It just wasn't good enough. We didn't reach our performance limit. We did it in the qualifying group, where we saw how easy it can be. Everyone is getting better, we have to get better too. We have to find out why we're not succeeding and work on it."

Sarah Puntigam (ÖFB captain): "The disappointment is huge that the dream has been shattered. It was only after the goal we conceded that it really felt like it was over. We had enough chances over 90 or 180 minutes to win the duel. Unfortunately, we didn't manage it. It just wasn't good enough, that's how realistic you have to be. We have to reflect on that now. It's not clear to me what I'm going to do now."

Manuela Zinsberger (ÖFB goalkeeper): "It's pure emptiness. We were in control for 90 minutes, tried to throw everything forward, put every ball on goal, but in the end it wasn't enough. If you don't win the two games and lose both, you don't deserve to go to the EURO. Of course there was an improvement today, but in the end we didn't put the ball in the net, we were one goal short. But we won't stop fighting now."