Austria sensationally finishes the group stage in first place ahead of France, the Netherlands and Poland. Fans and press celebrate their "Euro heroes" and the players are also completely satisfied.
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- Austria beat the Netherlands 3:2 and finished the group stage in first place ahead of France.
- The press and fans are delighted with the performance.
- Coach Ralf Rangnick and his players are also satisfied for the moment. But now the Austrians want more.
Austria celebrated a spectacular 3:2 victory against the Netherlands - and because France only drew 1:1 with Poland at the same time, the ÖFB team won the group. "Oe24" writes of the "Miracle of Berlin", while the "Krone" newspaper already dubs the players "EURO heroes".
The heroes are also celebrated in the stadium. After the final whistle, the players and coaching team stand arm in arm in front of the red and white fan curve and listen to thousands of Austrians singing "I am from Austria" on a beautiful summer evening.
The fact that Austria is performing so strongly is also thanks to coach Ralf Rangnick, who has instilled the winning gene in his team. The fact that Rangnick is still on the Austrian touchline at all is not a matter of course, as he was at the very, very top of Bayern's wish list. But the 65-year-old decided against the lucrative offer from Munich.
Or rather: Rangnick opted for Austria. After the 3:2 win against the Netherlands, he said: "We wanted to win the game, that's how the team was prepared and set up. I had another almost sleepless night yesterday because of the line-up." But once again he did everything right.
After Rangnick praised several players individually, he said: "What I particularly liked were the many phases of possession. In the first 20 minutes, it felt like we had 80 percent possession against Holland - you have to achieve that first. The third goal was a textbook example of what we want to play. Deep runs, perfect timing." But Ragnick wants more: "Now it's just getting started, that's how we see it. But we also know that we have to play every game at the top limit." He is glad that they now have a week's break.
"We simply have a great team"
Romano Schmid is delighted with his goal to make it 2:1 and praises his team-mates and coach: "100% character! You can tell that no matter who's on the pitch, the principles work. I think it was a deserved win, even if the Dutch played just as well. We simply have a great team. No matter who comes, we go into the game to win it. I think we'll be very well prepared."
Marcel Sabitzer, who returned to the national team after losing the Champions League final with Dortmund, scored the winning goal against the Netherlands. "Things often happen quickly in football, you have ups and downs. That's normal, I think. The question is how you deal with it."
And so the sun is already shining again for Sabitzer. "When you win like that, win the group, score the winning goal, it doesn't get any better than that," said the vice-captain, who also emphasized the breadth of the team. "You can see that we rotate and nothing is missing. Everyone knows their position and what they have to do."
In the round of 16, Austria will face Turkey, the Czech Republic or Georgia. Regardless of the opponent, Austria will be the favorites. However, Sabitzer doesn't want to look that far ahead just yet after the Holland game: "Now it's time to calm down, clear our heads and then we'll keep attacking."
For all those who would like to drift off into the land of dreams: Switzerland can meet Austria in the semi-finals at the earliest ...
