Thanks to 1:1 against Bosnia
LIVE: Austria’s big final against Bosnia!
"Alea iacta est", the decision has been made and the long wait is finally over - Austria's national team has qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years! Ralf Rangnick and his men held their nerve in the big final thriller of the qualifiers against their only remaining rivals Bosnia and Herzegovina after trailing for a long time and, thanks to Michael Gregoritsch's goal to make the final score 1:1 in the sold-out Happel Stadium in Vienna, secured first place and thus the ticket for the final round in North America ...
ÖFB coach Ralf Rangnick made two changes from the 2-0 win over Cyprus on Saturday - Phillipp Mwene and Patrick Wimmer replaced Stefan Posch and Romano Schmid in the starting eleven. The recently unfit captain David Alaba was on the bench.
The Bosnians started with Sturm Graz professionals Emir Karic - the match permit had only arrived late on Monday evening - and Arjan Malic at full-back. In addition, team boss Sergej Barbarez opted for Edin Dzeko and Tabakovic as the front two.
The visitors were deep from the kick-off and the Austrians had little to play for. A volley from Wimmer (7th) and a header from Christoph Baumgartner (9th) clearly missed the target. The Bosnians struck in the course of their first offensive effort. After a corner, goalkeeper Alexander Schlager fisted the ball away, Amar Memic brought the artificial leather back into the danger zone and Tabakovic headed in from close range. The home side, already nervous in some situations beforehand, looked helpless after that and only increased the pressure towards the end of the first half.
Controversial disallowance of Laimer goal
After a successful move, Bosnia's goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj defused a shot from Seiwald (35') before the big upset followed nine minutes later. Konrad Laimer scored with a shot from the penalty spot to make it 1:1 and send the majority of the stadium into ecstasy, which did not last long. The VAR intervened because Laimer had committed a foul on Esmir Bajraktarevic in his own half 21 seconds before his goal, and the Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro took the goal back.
The ÖFB team came out of the dressing room with anger in their bellies, Wimmer headed past the cross corner after Mwene's cross (48'). Tabakovic could have made the difference two minutes later, but he stumbled after unexpectedly getting to the ball in the box. It was to be the Bosnians' only dangerous attack in the second half, as Austria put on a power play, pinning their opponents in their own penalty area for long periods - but were unable to find a way through the tight defensive net for a long time.
Gregoritsch with a goal for the history books
Rangnick reacted after just under an hour by bringing on Gregoritsch, which turned out to be a golden move: With just under a quarter of an hour remaining, the Styrian scored the goal that will secure him a place in the ÖFB history books. Marcel Sabitzer delivered a cross to the middle, Arnautovic missed the ball and irritated Vasilj, who deflected the ball against the crossbar. But Gregoritsch burst in from behind and thumped the ball into the net from close range.
Bosnia were unable to add to their tally and Austria took the decisive point without any major problems. The ÖFB team even had the chance to make it 2:1 through Gregoritsch (89'). The next important date is December 5, when the World Cup group draw will take place in Washington. Austria will most likely be drawn from pot 3, and a win would have put them in pot 2 - but that was not even a side note in the hour of great triumph.
The result:
Austria - Bosnia and Herzegovina 1:1 (0:1)
Vienna, Ernst-Happel-Stadion, 49,500 spectators (sold out), referee João Pinheiro (POR)
Goals: 0:1 (12') Tabakovic, 1:1 (77') Gregoritsch
Yellow cards: Laimer and Hadzikadunic
Austria: A. Schlager - Laimer, Lienhart, Danso, Mwene (68. Schmid) - Seiwald, X. Schlager (68. Posch) - Wimmer (59. Gregoritsch), Baumgartner, Sabitzer - Arnautovic (81. Schöpf)
Bosnia: Vasilj - Malic (84. Bazdar), Hadzikadunic, Muharemovic, Karic (71. Mujakic) - Bajraktarevic, Sunjic (84. Alajbegovic), Tahirovic (84. Hadziahmetovic), Memic - Tabakovic (62. Gigovic), Dzeko
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Kommentare
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
