Giant now awaits

2:0 victory! Austria advance to the U17 World Cup round of 16

Austria's U17 national team is through to the last 16 of the World Cup.(Bild: © Andreas Pichler, APhotography)

Great success for Austria's U17 national team. After beating Tunisia 2:0, they have reached the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar - where soccer giants England now await.

After successfully completing the group stage with three wins, team boss Hermann Stadler's squad beat Tunisia 2:0 in the round of 16 on Saturday. Johannes Moser was the match-winner late on, first converting a penalty (83'), then his shot was deflected into his own goal by Mazen Slama Essefi (84'). Now England awaits.

"The boys gave everything"
 "The boys gave everything right to the end. That's great. We've now only conceded one goal in four games. That shows the great quality in our defense - but defending starts right at the front," Stadler summed up. The longer the game lasted, the more the ÖFB-Physis came into its own. "The more active and dominant we became. And when we made it 1:0, we were able to go one better," said a satisfied ÖFB coach.

U17 coach Hermann Stadler (center)(Bild: ÖFB/Andreas Pichler)

Few chances in the first half
After their victories against Saudi Arabia (1:0), Mali (3:0) and New Zealand (4:1), the Austrians were favorites going into the first ÖFB match of the knockout phase. However, there were not many chances to be seen before the break. ÖFB goalkeeper Daniel Posch was able to save a shot from Anisse Saidi (30'). At the other end, Dominik Dobis, who failed to beat Slim Bouaskar from twelve meters (40'), and Moser (42') missed out on the lead.

Johannes Moser (center) also scored from the penalty spot against Tunisia.(Bild: ÖFB/Andreas Pichler)

Moser's third penalty
After the restart, the Austrian team did not push for a winner until the 75th minute. Hasan Deshishku failed to score from an acute angle against the Tunisian goalkeeper (76'), who then also made a good save from a double chance by "joker" Filip Aleksic (77'). Bouaskar then missed a shot four minutes later, Vasilije Markovic won the ball and was fouled by the goalkeeper. Moser confidently converted the spot-kick, his third goal from the penalty spot in the tournament. A minute later, he put the ball past the Tunisian goalkeeper, provoking an own goal.

Germany make a fool of themselves
"We analyzed our opponents well and exploited their weaknesses with ice-cold precision. That's why we deserved to win in the end," summarized Moser. England also beat South Korea 2:0 thanks to an own goal from Jung Huiseop (28) and a goal from Reigan Heskey (35). The battle for a place in the quarter-finals will take place on Tuesday. Defending champions Germany are no longer represented in this stage of the competition after losing 1-0 to Burkina Faso.