The big win was denied to the Austrian national team, and it shouldn’t be. Ralf Rangnick’s new side conceded a 1-2 defeat to Turkey in the first leg of their round of 16 knockout stage at Euro 2024, forcing them to bow out of the competition. After a 2-0 deficit, the Austrians tried everything in the last 20 minutes of the game, completely pushing their opponents back, but they could not equalize. Over, over.
A home game? Are you serious? That would have been weird too, somehow the film was solidified. As in the previous matches of this European Championship against France, Poland and the Netherlands, the Austrian fans turned out in great strength at the Leipzig stadium. The Turks had a substantial majority. The so-called home advantage turned out to be an illusion because of the players’ and coaches’ personal connection to the city. But Austrians are used to it.
Marko Arnautovic wins the toss, but the shot bounces back. The Turks countered after breaking a quick attack from the Austrians, with Nisi Seewald taking a corner and a brilliantly rounded set piece by the very talented 19-year-old Arda Guler, very unlucky but much worse. 0-1 in the first minute. Patrick Bentz couldn’t get off the line and from there Christoph Baumgartner played straight to Stefan Bosch, the goalkeeper clawed at the rebound but Demirel’s shot was no longer blocked. The start couldn’t have been worse and the advantage is that there are at least 89 minutes left. The Austrians were now challenged immediately and looked for a quick response, attacking continuously, finding three chances to equalize within five minutes and were centimeters away from a corner.
Demirel scored his brace
But the offensive activity soon subsided and the technically strong Turks, always dangerous on their counterattacks, had no problem keeping the game under control. Then suddenly the half-time whistle blew and the Austrians, apart from the instant reaction time to the goal, had not found their game and were still trailing. And to make matters worse, it started raining. But something had to be done.
The team boss responded and set an example, bringing on Alexander Brass for Philippe Mwane and second-in-command Michael Grigoritch in place of Romano Schmidt, who had already been cautioned. Austria started with an attack that almost paid off after a few minutes. After a great pass from Bosch, Arnautovic appeared alone in front of goal, but goalkeeper Cunog prevented an equalizer with a strong defense that had already looked certain. Other promising campaigns also failed.
Then the disaster began. Another corner kick, again very strong by Güler, Demerel rose above all Austrians to make it 2-0. Standards that Austria could not reach for a long time threatened the downfall of the red-white-red team. The question forced itself into the hearts of the absolutely excited Turkish fans: Will the Austrians make a comeback?
Grigorich gave an answer, he stretched it to 1:2 with a Sabitzer corner. Now that Rangnick’s team has tried the power play, the Turks in particular are showing signs of wear and tear. They tried everything with great intensity. Shots continued to hit some Turkish legs. In the closing stages, all players except Benz were in the Austrian attacking half for several minutes. In the 94th minute, Kunock made a monster save against Baumgartner’s header. It doesn’t help anymore, Turkey meet the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
Maximilian Woeber’s first reaction was, “There is emptiness within everyone.” “We have inspired joy not only in Austria but also in our team. We hoped to achieve a lot. There is disappointment, nobody knows exactly what will happen next.
