Missed out on group victory

Arnautovic shakes his head: “It hurts a lot!”

Hanging heads with Marko Arnautovic and Co.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

It had looked really good for a long time, but shortly before the end the ÖFB team had to concede the equalizer to make it 1:1 against Slovenia on Sunday. The Nations League group win was missed in dramatic fashion. "It hurts a lot," said Marko Arnautovic, who was particularly frustrated by the lack of chances.

The Austrian shakes his head during the ORF interview. "This draw feels like a defeat. I think only one team played here," Arnautovic analyzes the game. And indeed, the Austrian team deserved to lead 1:0 after Romano Schmid scored in the 27th minute, but failed to add the second goal.

Now in the play-off
The inevitable happened. Slovenia's Adam Gnezda Cerin equalized in the 81st minute. "We completely dominated the game," said an annoyed Arnautovic. "It's bitter and it hurts a lot!" As runners-up in the group, they will now go on to the play-off for promotion to League A in March 2025. Their opponents will be a third-placed team from the top division, with the draw taking place on Friday.

"That's soccer. We have nothing to blame ourselves for," said "Arnie", who then emphasized once again: "There was only one team on the pitch!"