Austrian fans finally got the chance to rejoice as their national team completed a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Poland. Gernot Trauner opened the scoring with a wonderful header in the ninth minute. 21 minutes later, Krzysztof Piatek equalized for Poland. The Austrians completed the job in the second half thanks to goals from Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic.
The glory significantly increased Austria’s chances of qualification. Even a draw against the Netherlands in their third game should be enough to take them to the round of 16. Austria’s recent rise has been a sensational story in European soccer, and their journey looks far from over.
Ralf Rangnick coaches a perfect game
The former RB Leipzig and Manchester United coach once again displayed why he is so well respected in the world of soccer. Ralf Rangnick’s tactics made the job for the Austrian players a little less challenging who looked superior in all aspects to the Polish players. His appointment as the head coach of the Austrian team in 2022 has been one of the biggest gifts to the national team.
Austria began the game against Poland in their usual 4-2-3-1 setup. The German coach’s trademark style of counter-pressing caused Poland all sorts of trouble. His players are completely in sync with the philosophy of Ralf Rangnick and are capable of providing trouble to even the favorites in the European championship.
Poland’s journey looks over
Poland will count themselves massively unfortunate in their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign so far. Their star player, captain, and biggest legend of all time, Robert Lewandowski has only played 34 minutes in the two games so far. The Barcelona striker, consequently, has had little resources to make an impact which might very well be the reason for the country’s elimination.
The Poles will come up against title contenders, France in their last group-stage game. Even three points against the French might not be enough, considering the nation has a negative goal difference of three. France will inevitably be a very difficult prospect and forecasting a Poland victory looks off the cards.
