Our 1st European Championship goalscorer

On the bench against France, 1:0 against Poland

Gernot Trauner's goal to make it 1:0(Bild: AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

While he was still on the bench at the start of Austria's first European Championship match against France, Gernot Trauner put Ralf Rangnick's team ahead after just over eight minutes in the all-important clash with Poland.

Right from the kick-off, Red-White-Red showed where they wanted to go on Friday: into the opposition's penalty area. The ball possession in Poland's half was correspondingly high until Philipp Mwene delivered a perfect cross into the sixteen, which Trauner converted with an equally superb header into the short corner to make it 1:0 for Austria. It was the ÖFB squad's first goal of the European Championship in Germany. 

Austria's players celebrate Trauner.(Bild: AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The central defender had had to watch on for an hour against France before getting his first taste of European Championship action. The changes in the back line certainly paid off, with a defender being credited with Austria's first European Championship goal.

Bitter: Trauner was brought on after an hour against France, but had to leave the pitch after an hour against Poland due to injury. Nevertheless, the 3:1 victory brought a smile to the Linzer's face.