At first, however, the sting in the Brentford Community Stadium of the local “bees” was deep. As in the opening game against England (0-1), Austria had sold themselves dearly against the number five in the world, this time they also had several good chances of at least one goal. The ball went to the aluminum three times, but the Germans had the same bad luck twice. The victory that was deserved in the end was also due to mistakes in the ÖFB defense.
“It’s bitter at first because we put in a very good performance against an absolutely world-class team. But in the end we made one or the other mistake too many, which such a team then exploits coldly,” Fuhrmann analyzed with the usual sovereignty. She emphasized the positive and looked ahead. “If we can take the momentum and consistency with us, then participating in a world championship for the first time is within reach.”
Best of Germany – Austria
The dream of a return to the semi-finals of a European Championship is close for Austria’s footballers on Thursday, but it has burst. Team manager Irene Fuhrmann’s selection was beaten 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2022 European Championships in Brentford Germany.
“Now it hurts, looking back we can be proud”
After the final whistle, the Austrians were initially depressed. Tears flowed from one or the other, including goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger. But that had nothing to do with her mistake before Alexandra Popp’s 0:2 just before the end. “The tears come because the tournament is over for us. It was an incredibly beautiful time. We have achieved a lot again and hopefully made Austria proud,” explained the 26-year-old. “Of course it still hurts now, but looking back we can be proud.”
Carina Wenninger had a similar experience. “You’re disappointed, you get a lot of great news, but you can’t really process it yet. You need a moment,” said the defender after her 120th international match, in which she also made a serious mistake before Lina Magull’s 0-1. The further the final whistle was, the more smiles came back to the faces. “It gets easier with every minute after the game. We’ve achieved a lot, it was another cool trip,” said Laura Feiersinger, who was obviously still reminiscing on the pitch.
Austria went into the game against the eight-time record European champion as outsiders. You didn’t notice that after the first few minutes. Fuhrmann’s women posed problems for their opponents and were unlucky for the first time that evening when Marina Georgieva headed the ball. The defender, who started from the start for the ÖFB captain Viktoria Schnaderbeck, who suffered from a knee injury, hit the bar. “If we had scored the first goal it would have given us a boost. That’s how you’re chasing a German lead,” Feiersinger quarreled.
Self-critical when making mistakes
In the 25th minute, Austria fell into the German pressing trap. Popp put Zinsberger under pressure, whose shot came back immediately and Wenninger let Klara Bühl steal the ball. “I take that on my cap. I was surprised that Klara was there so quickly. I have to put my body into it better,” emphasized Wenninger. “Then she was up to speed and it’s difficult to defend.”
Fuhrmann had not yet seen the goal conceded on TV before the press conference, but said: “Mistakes happen, but they don’t necessarily lead to goals. We, too, forced Germany to make mistakes, but failed to capitalize on them. That’s the next step we have to take.” In this regard, everyone agreed, including Julia Hickelsberger-Füller, who missed a good chance at the beginning: “We have to be more efficient there.” In a total of three knockouts . games, Austria have not yet scored a European Championship goal.
Aluminum pitch prevents compensation
Austria first had to recover from the 1-0 deficit, but got back on track. Especially in the second half, when Barbara Dunst and Sarah Puntigam got two more shots within five minutes. “We didn’t have luck on our side,” said Dunst, who hit the crossbar twice in this tournament. “I don’t know what bad luck I had, it didn’t want to be. I guess I have to train more there.” On the other hand, Germany also hit aluminum twice.
The Germans, who could have closed the sack a little earlier thanks to the strong Bühl, punished another mistake in the final minute. Zinsberger shot Popp, the ball went straight into the goal for the final score. “It just wasn’t done properly from a technical point of view, of course I’ll take responsibility for the goal,” emphasized Zinsberger, who had previously kept the ÖFB team in the game. But Germany was that decisive bit better that evening. “We went to the limit, played well, but we have to correct one or the other mistake,” Wenninger clarified afterwards.
Further development is positive
In the end, Austria ended up in the top eight in Europe when it took part in the European Championship for the second time. In 2017, the sensational advancement to the semi-finals was achieved at the premiere, now the further development of the game was particularly positive. “We didn’t hide, we played boldly, looked for flat solutions, also incorporated the high ball, just to be more flexible, to be more unpredictable,” emphasized Zinsberger.
Fuhrmann agreed: “We played a completely different kind of football, so it’s clear that mistakes still happen. We played an unbelievable European Championship against such strong opponents and confirmed these performances again and again. Germany will see it that way, they had to give everything to beat us.” Her opponent Martina Voss-Tecklenburg was later to articulate: “We played against a stubborn opponent. A huge compliment to Austria. The game can end 6: 3, everything was demanded of us.”
“This team is ready for the World Cup”
First of all, it is now necessary to digest the disappointment about the elimination, the players were soon fighting again. “It fits, it hurts, but we’ll be back,” promised Zinsberger. “We won’t let it get us down, we will take the positives out of it and gather new strength. Draw the right conclusions even from the negative. Then there is full attack again.”
The next goal is obvious, having qualified for the World Cup play-off for the first time and wanting to be in the finals. “This team is definitely ready for the World Cup,” emphasized Dunst, but also stated that there was still a long and difficult road ahead. The play-off for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is about multi-stage. In addition, after the second successful European Championship in a row, Austria is no longer taken lightly, as Zinsberger emphasized. “If anyone else underestimates us now, I don’t know anymore.”
UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Quarterfinals
Thursday:
Germany – Austria 2:0 (1:0)
London, Brentford Community Stadium, 16,025 spectators, SR Welch (ENG)
Torfolge:
1:0 Bruise (25.)
2:0 Popp (90.)
Deutschland: Frohms – Gwinn, Hendrich, Hegering, Rauch (95th / Kleinherne) – Däbritz (64th / Lattwein), Magull (64th / Dallmann), Oberdorf – Huth (95th / Lohmann), Popp, Bühl (83rd / Brand )
Austria: Zinsberger – Wienroither, Wenninger, Georgieva, Hanshaw – Puntigam (81st/Höbinger) – Hickelsberger-Füller (72nd/Naschenweng), Zadrazil, Feiersinger, Dunst – Billa (86th/Makas)
Yellow cards: Däbritz or Hanshaw, Dunst, Naschenweng