In the sold-out Linz Arena, where the necessary fan support came from the start, as the ÖFB team had hoped, the hosts needed around 30 minutes to get on the road to victory. Substitute captain Marcel Sabitzer scored the lead after a nice attack (27th), less than 100 seconds later Michael Gregoritsch increased (29th).
After the break, Sabitzer tied a brace with a direct free kick (50′). The guests, who had previously won five times in a row, scored the goal through Emin Mahmudov (65′), but Christoph Baumgartner made the final point (69′). Austria leads the table in Group F ahead of Belgium (3-0 in Sweden), on Monday (8.45 p.m., live on ORF1) again in Linz against the second outsider in this group: Estonia.
ÖFB premiere in the new Linz Arena
New year, new stadium, new luck. 15 years after the missed opportunity called the European Championship at home, Linz presented itself in a new stadium guise. At the well-known spot, the Froschberg, the new Raiffeisen Arena of LASK was built, which was suitable for the start against an outsider like Azerbaijan. Especially since the stadium was full in the end, and that generated positive energy from the start. But the fans weren’t just curious about the new arena.
In the first year under Rangnick, the Austrian national team also advertised on their own behalf, most recently with a 2-0 win against European champions Italy. Four months later, the mission that should end in Germany in 2024 at the European Championship finals started. There was also a separate song for this: “hoch gwimmas (n)imma” by the local pop stars Paul Pizzera and Christopher Seiler was of course played before the game started, as was the usual program: “I am from Austria”, Radetzky March and national anthem.
Marcel Sabitzer captained the Austrians for the third time because David Alaba, like Marko Arnautovic and Xaver Schlager, was injured. Patrick Wimmer was preferred to Karim Onisiwo, as expected Michael Gregoritsch stormed up front. Heinz Lindner started in goal, which was no surprise, especially since Rangnick announced it the day before at the final press conference.
Half an hour start
If you don’t score in the early stages against an underdog like Azerbaijan, it becomes a game of patience for the favourites. It was no different in Linz either. After the first mistake made by Azerbaijani goalie Yusif Imanow that evening, Christoph Baumgartner was unable to profit from it. After that, both teams settled into the game, Azerbaijan played along and showed why they recently won five games in a row.
The hoped-for support came from the ranks (“Stand up for Austria”), and the ÖFB team soon tried to end the game of patience with a goal. Sabitzer fired the first warning shot (8′), after 15 minutes Gregoritsch missed his first chance after a Wöber cross (16′). Rangnick put pressure on from the sidelines, his players were slowly but surely able to keep the opponent busy in their half. Defensively they only made life difficult for themselves after their own mistakes, but Gernot Trauner – the second Linzer in the starting XI alongside Lindner – ironed out his right away (11′).
Double strike provides relief
Sabitzer missed the next shot for Austria, after a good 20 minutes the hosts should have been in the lead, but Gregoritsch missed miserably in front of Imanow (23′). But the Austrians kept up the pressure and it was soon to be rewarded. Wimmer served Baumgartner from the half-right in the penalty area, who put it ideally on Sabitzer, and Sabitzer completed the ball into the left corner (27′).
Alaba cheered euphorically on the bench, as the Real Madrid player also knew how important a can opener can be. Less than 100 seconds later, the ailing ÖFB star was able to celebrate again, because Gregoritsch fought for the ball after an opposing free kick, marched down the right and defeated Imanow in the corner, the substitute goalie did not do any self-promotion (29th). A treble would have been too much of a good thing, but Baumgartner would have had the chance to do so if he had better ball control (30′).
It didn’t matter to the fans, they celebrated the good result. Even the wave went through the stadium before the break. The only downside: Maximilian Wöber, who caused a lot of action with crosses from the left, had to be substituted with a muscle injury, Posch came on for him. The last brilliant act before the break belonged to Lindner, who deflected a Ramil Sheydayev shot over the bar from outside the box after a stop error by Trauner.
Sabitzer puts together a double pack
Austria didn’t rest on their laurels, but tried to extend it further and occupied their opponents right after the restart. Wimmer first failed with his shot from an acute angle (48th), Sabitzer then acted more precisely from around 20 meters. The Manchester United legionnaire curled a free kick into the net and scored his first brace in the team, Imanov in the Azerbaijani goal was only up again (51st).
Just a minute later, Sabitzer served Gregoritsch in the penalty area with a raised cross, the Freiburg legionnaire deflected the ball to the crossbar, but was probably offside. The video assistant referee did not have to intervene (52nd). Austria then allowed themselves a deserved creative break, which the guests used to score a goal. First Bahlul Mustafazada failed to head Lindner (62′), two minutes later Emin Mahmudov completed an attack from the left, in which the ÖFB team was always a step too late (64′).
Baumgartner sets an atmospheric conclusion
This did not dampen the excellent atmosphere, because just five minutes later, Baumgartner completed the game with a header from a Sabitzer corner from a five-pointer (69′). Austria got more opportunities for a bigger win by staying active. The fans, too, liked it, and chanted “Oh, how beautiful that is”. Kainz and Danso narrowly failed in the finish, that didn’t change anything about the outcome: the start has been made.
European Championship qualification, group F, first day of play
Freitag:
Austria – Azerbaijan 4: 1 (2: 0)
Linz, Raiffeisen Arena, 16,500 spectators (sold out), SR Frankowski (POL)
Torfolge:
1:0 (28.) Sabitzer
2:0 (29.) Gregoritsch
3: 0 (50th) Sabitzer (free kick)
3:1 (64.) Mahmudov
4:1 (69.) Baumgartner
Austria: Lindner – Mwene, Trauner (74th / Ulmer), Danso, Wöber (34th / Posch) – Seiwald – Laimer, Sabitzer (74th / Ljubicic), Wimmer (68th / Kainz) – Baumgartner, Gregoritsch (68th / Adamu )
Azerbaijan: Imanov – Haghverdi, Mustafazada, Hasanalizada (46./Krivotsyuk), Jafarguliyev (46./Aliyev) – Richard Almeida (78./Isayev), Mahmudov, Israfilov (60. Jamalov) – Kökcü (46./Alaskarov), Dadashov, Sheydayev
Yellow cards: Wöber or Jafarguliyev, Richard Almeida, Mahmudov, Israfilov, Dadashov
The best: Sabitzer, Baumgartner, Danso and Mahmudov
