An impressive Austria beat Poland 3-1 in Berlin, thanks to goals from Gernot Trauner, Christoph Baumgartner and a Marko Arnautovic penalty.
Poland, who were again unable to start Robert Lewandowski, offered little throughout and will now need to beat France in their final group game to have any chance of reaching the knockout stage after losing their first two matches.
The scores were level at half-time, but Austria manager Ralf Rangnick’s clever substitutions turned the tide in his team’s favour and they ran out comfortable winners.
Here, Tim Spiers and Andy Jones analyse and evaluate the key talking points from the match.
Rangnick’s changes worked wonders
Austria played pretty well in the first half but lacked control of the game. Rangnick’s first change at half-time saw Patrick Wimmer, the fun, blonde-top-knotted young Wolfsburg winger who loves a rabona, on for Florian Grillitsch.
That meant Konrad Laimer pushed back into central midfield to help better retain possession, while Wimmer hugged the right touchline and stretched play.
Austria were better, but it still wasn’t enough. After the hour, Rangnick took off busy left-back Phillipp Mwene, who had set up the opening goal.
Rangnick looks to his bench (RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images)
Mwene was sprightly but, being right-footed, he had a tendency to cut inside and occupy space belonging to Marcel Sabitzer.
On came the left-footed, more attack-minded Alexander Prass, again to stretch play and prise Poland apart to create gaps for Baumgartner and Sabitzer to exploit.
It worked within three minutes — Prass, wide left, picked out Baumgartner in space via an Arnautovic dummy and he beat Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a fine low finish.
You’ve got to love it when a plan comes together.
Tim Spiers
Arnautovic repays his manager’s faith
Rangnick made a big call up front, recalling Marko Arnautovic back into the starting XI in place of Michael Gregoritsch after the latter got the nod against France earlier in the week.
Bologna forward Arnautovic, 35, who spent last season on loan with Inter Milan, is heading for the end of his career now but remains one of Austria’s key men.
He’s not the fiery, me-against-the-world youngster he once was, but he can still strut like a peacock. So how would he fare leading Austria’s high intensity, high-pressing game? Well, he wasn’t exactly haring around like a greyhound, but his work rate was great, he won the ball back in the final third, he linked up well in Austria’s dangerous front four and he had a couple of sights at goal.
You would imagine Rangnick would prefer a younger version of the former West Ham United and Stoke player to lead his line, but Arnautovic did pretty well and it was his clever dummy that led to Baumgartner putting Austria ahead in the second half.
With 15 minutes to go Gregoritsch was waiting impatiently to come on as a substitute, presumably for Arnautovic, but then Sabitzer won a penalty and nobody was going to stop the captain taking it.
His 37th goal for Austria was one of his most important… and then he was subbed.
Tim Spiers
Piatek does his best to fill Lewandowski’s void
When you’re not one of the biggest footballing nations, the elite talent at your disposal is limited to a handful of player at most. So, when you arrive at a major tournament and your star man and all-time record goal scorer, 35-year-old Lewandowski, is nursing a thigh injury, the outlook can look bleak.
Poland therefore needed others to step up to provide the cutting edge in attack that Lewandowski has given them over so many years.
The hope was that the Barcelona forward would only miss Poland’s opening game of Euro 2024 (against the Netherlands on June 16), but he was still not fit to start this clash against Austria.
In the first game, Adam Buksa led the line and scored to give Poland the lead. It wasn’t enough (the Netherlands won 2-1), but they did look good for a point until Wout Weghorst’s late goal.
Against Austria, with Buksa less influential, it was the turn of Krzysztof Piatek to score, with the 28-year-old converting the equaliser from close range after the ball fell invitingly to him in the box.
Piatek celebrates his goal (PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images)
Lewandowski could only watch on from the bench in the first half, offering his thoughts to the coaching staff to try and influence proceedings, until his introduction on 60 minutes. The game was in the balance but he was unable to provide the extra spark required as Poland fell to a second straight defeat that leaves them on the brink of elimination.
Andy Jones
…but when talisman did come on he offered little
The crowd volume cranking up suddenly alerted everyone to who was about to enter proceedings. After watching the first 150 minutes of Poland’s European Championship from the bench, Lewandowski emerged from the bench to try and provide the magic touch for his side.
A thigh injury ruled him out of the opening fixture against the Netherlands and he was still not fit enough to start against Austria. As the game ticked on and Lewandowski started warming up it was a matter of when not if he would play a part.
Lewandowski struggled to make an impact after coming on (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
The Polish fans in attendance made their excitement known, and Lewandowski looked like he meant business as he put on the captain’s armband and offered encouragement to his team-mates.
However, he was unable to influence the game in the way he would have hoped. Despite some sharp link-up with his, a big chance never fell his way, while he watched his team concede twice at the other end. The result leaves their chances of progressing in the tournament hanging by a thread.
Andy Jones
Austria show they might be a force in the tournament
Rangnick has enjoyed a fine two years in charge of Austria. He’s completely reinvented their playing style, from conservative, pragmatic counter-attacking to front-foot, frolicking fun, goals galore and a high press that perfectly reflects what he has done in his managerial career over many decades.
Austria beat Germany and Italy in friendlies to suggest they had something about them, they went eight unbeaten going into the tournament and hammered Turkey 6-1, but had they lost this game, well, it all would have counted for absolutely nothing.
And at half time things were on a knife edge with Austria’s front line or midfield not quite clicking. Rangnick’s changes worked a treat and, had Austria been more clinical, this could easily have approached the thrashing they handed out to Turkey in March.
The big open spaces that Poland left as they chased the game should offer as a warning to the tournament’s better sides — starting with the Netherlands next Tuesday — that Austria are very good at exploiting them.
If they can squeeze through the group — and three goals here were huge for their goal difference should they finish in third — no one will want to draw Austria. They are dangerous.
Tim Spiers
Where does this result leave Poland and Austria?
Here is how Group D looks after Austria’s victory over Poland.
Group D
| Team | Played | Points |
|---|---|---|
|
France |
1 |
3 |
|
Netherlands |
1 |
3 |
|
Austria |
2 |
3 |
|
Poland |
2 |
0 |
To have any chance of qualifying, Poland must beat France in their final game. Even then, due to their poor start to the tournament, they may not even go through as a third-placed team. Surely Lewandowski will start the game in Dortmund next Tuesday.
As for Austria, they will be watching tonight’s match between the Netherlands and France with interest. They play the former in Berlin on Tuesday and it remains possible that Rangnick’s side could advance as group winners.
What next for Poland?
Tuesday, June 25: France (Dortmund), 5pm BST, 12pm ET
What next for Austria?
Tuesday, June 25: Netherlands (Berlin), 5pm BST, noon ET
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(Top photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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