Before the hit in Kazakhstan

Cherchessov: “Austrians play fresher”

Stanislav Cherchessov(Bild: GEPA)

For Kazakhstan soccer team boss Stanislav Cherchessov, the Nations League match against Austria in Almaty on Thursday (4pm) is all about revenge. The 61-year-old wants to show that his team is better than the 4-0 defeat in Linz a month ago would suggest. At the same time, the former Tirol goalkeeper and coach is also aware of the quality of the Austrian team and described them as the most promising contenders to win the group.

"Austria, Norway and Slovenia are pretty equally strong, but the Austrians somehow play fresher. They didn't beat Norway so highly for nothing. That's why they're the favorites to win the group. But we will do everything we can to score points," said Cherchesov.

"It will be a completely different game to Linz!"
In Almaty, his team fought out a 0-0 draw against Norway and a narrow 1-0 draw against Slovenia. This time, too, it should be uncomfortable for the visitors at the Ortalyk Stadium. "It will be a completely different game to Linz. This time the Austrians will have to fly to us for a long time," explained Cherchessov. In the duel a month ago, "we didn't actually play that badly, but we made some big mistakes", emphasized the former Russian team boss.

Around 170 Austrian fans on site 
Cherchessov will have to do without the suspended Islam Chesnokov and Nuraly Alip, his team are five points behind the leading trio with one point from four games and are therefore very likely to bow out of League B. The stadium in Almaty has a capacity of almost 24,000 spectators and will probably be sold out, according to Cherchessov. Around 170 Austrian fans will be in attendance.