analyse
It was one of the best games of this European Football Championship: Austria took the Netherlands by surprise with powerful football. And while the Netherlands are rightly self-critical, Ralf Rangnick and Co. still have a lot to do.
It only took 34 minutes for Ronald Koeman to have enough. The national coach was unnerved – and he reacted: Xavi Simons came on for Joey Veerman. This decision was not made hastily. Despite the early hour, the RB Leipzig midfielder had already warmed up for a long time on the narrow strip of artificial turf at the edge of the pitch.
The need for action was blatant. This was due to the poor performance of the Netherlands itself. “Do you have time? I could list some mistakes?” asked Koeman. But it was also due to Austria’s strong performance. “We came in brutally well. We were able to go all-in from the start,” said coach Ralf Rangnick.
Koeman: “That was really terrible”
The 65-year-old said that he and his team had been working on the starting eleven for a long time. The result was something he himself called “quite unexpected”. The Austrians made four substitutions, knowing that they were almost certain to be eliminated in the group stage. For example, Romano Schmid and Patrick Wimmer were allowed to start for the first time at a European Championship in place of the leading players Konrad Laimer and Christoph Baumgartner, who had already received yellow cards.
The plan worked – and how: The Dutch were literally overwhelmed by the Austrians’ aggressive play. Veerman was just a symbol of this overload. Until he was substituted, only 44 percent of his passes were successful under the constant pressure of the opponent. “The players ran a lot, but not in the right positions. That was really terrible. We didn’t control the game,” complained Koeman.
Austria with celebrated ball relays
And it could have looked even worse for the Dutch. But the Austrians only played an almost perfect game. What was missing? The determination in the ball relays that the fans celebrated with shouts of “Hooooo-ey”. After twenty minutes, Austria had only had one shot on goal.
They didn’t need anyone to take the lead: Donyell Malen scored an own goal. Although it was the seventh goal of the tournament, it was an unpleasant first for the “Elftal” at a European Championship.
Not everything was bad for the Dutch. They had their best phase at the start of the second half. “We got more into our own game and more intense,” said striker Wout Weghorst – at that point still with the best view from the bench – in an interview with Sportschau. “In the second half we performed better in one-on-one situations,” said Koeman, who also saw a slight upward trend.
Sabitzer: “We never lose our line”
Cody Gakpo – who was completely out of sorts in the first half – scored to make it 1:1. The shot on goal was only the winger’s 14th touch of the ball. And suddenly it was noticeable that Austria was vulnerable. The match became a spectacle. “Of course not everything was perfect,” Marcel Sabitzer told Sportschau. But it was precisely in this moment of faltering that the ÖFB captain and his team showed how solid they currently are.
Because whatever the improved Netherlands delivered, Austria had an answer and in the end had the last word. A quality that Sabitzer also highlighted: “We always come back and never lose our line. If things get shaky, we pull ourselves together relatively quickly and hold on to what sets us apart.”
The second smallest player of the European Championship scores with a header
At least on this evening in the Olympic Stadium, these skills included not only intensity but also effectiveness. The Austrians had two shots on goal in the second half – and they were enough for two goals. Romano Schmid scored the first and the second smallest player scored – of all things – with a perfectly timed header.
If Schmid made the Austrians forget his height when they made it 2-1, the winning goal to make it 3-2 was also a feat. The captain crowned his performance personally from a tight angle. Sabitzer – later officially named “Player of the Match” – was directly involved in six of his team’s ten shots on goal.
Depay and his missed clearance
And with his goal he prevented the big story of the game from becoming a different one. That of Memphis Depay. The Dutch striker had scored the 2:2 for his team in the exciting exchange of blows earlier. Acknowledged after minutes of VAR trembling. The goal briefly put the “Elftal” back in first place in the group, but above all it was a very personal liberation for Depay.
Because he was the It was a topic of conversation among the almost 18 million national coaches – and thus also at the press conference before the match. The 30-year-old was omnipresent, even though he wasn’t actually there. Every second question – a perceived but realistic figure – revolved around the striker, who is actually preparing to replace Robin van Persie as his country’s record goalscorer. But who has yet to score a goal at this European Championship.
Austrians look forward to group viewing
In the end, his goal was a side note. The Dutch had long since left the pitch when the Austrians were still celebrating in their corner. They were clearly enthralled and moved by the way thousands of fans in the idyllic evening atmosphere of the Olympic Stadium enthusiastically intoned “I am from Austria”.
Now it’s time to relax. The families are allowed to come to the hotel, Rangnick has given them a day off. “We’re going to drive down now and watch the games in comfort, because we’re all football fans and enjoy a European Championship like this,” said Sabitzer. Then they will find out which third-placed team they will face on Tuesday (July 2, 2024, 9 p.m.) in Leipzig. The options: Turkey, the Czech Republic or Georgia.
Sabitzer: “We want to go to the end”
Preferences, Mr Sabitzer? “We’ll take what comes. Because we want to go to the end and then you have to beat everyone anyway,” said Sabitzer. “We want to show what this team is capable of and get as far as possible. Now we’ve won the group, which is actually unbelievable,” said his coach. Both sound very confident. And the Austrians can be that on a day when they forced Dutch coach Ronald Koeman to make substitutions after just 34 minutes.
