Italy eliminated
Let’s go! Will our lads make it to the final?
The dream of winning the World Cup for the first time lives on for Austria's U17 national soccer team. Team boss Hermann Stadler's squad defeated Italy 2:0 in the semi-final at the Aspire Academy in Doha on Monday. 17-year-old Carinthian Johannes Moser was once again the match winner, taking over the sole lead in the World Cup scoring charts with his tournament goals seven (57th) and eight (93rd). Their opponents in the final will be Portugal or Brazil on Thursday (17.00) at the Khalifa International Stadium.
It is a historic success for Austria, as they have never before reached a World Cup final in any age group. The Austrians are the only team to have won all their matches during the tournament. In the knockout phase, they again failed to concede a goal in their fourth appearance after beating Tunisia 2-0, England 4-0 and Japan 1-0. Moser and Co. had also conceded just one goal in the group stage, in games against Saudi Arabia (1-0), Mali (3-0) and New Zealand (4-1).
Infantino and Wenger watched ÖFB win
In front of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Arsene Wenger, the Italians started with great momentum and pressed hard for the opening goal in the opening quarter of an hour. The ÖFB defense, weakened by the absence of Ifeanyi Ndukwe due to yellow card suspension, was not as solid as it had been in the tournament so far, and it was probably also due to nervousness. After just over a minute, Samuele Inacio was too indecisive with his shot. Thomas Campaniello shot just wide (3') and a volley from Dauda Iddrisa after an Inacio cross went just over (12').
As the first half progressed, however, the ÖFB squad got into the game better and were able to make their mark time and again, particularly through Hasan Deshishku, but were unable to create any good chances. After the break, the match was evenly poised before Moser's big moment arrived once again. After a great through pass from Jakob Werner, the 17-year-old FC Liefering attacker struck a left-footed shot into the far corner via the inside of the post. It was his third goal of the tournament from play and he also converted four penalties.
Dream free-kick from Moser
The Italians then had to take more risks and set the tone, but they never came close to equalizing. The ÖFB team, led by captain Jakob Pokorny, did more than just defend and were rewarded for their efforts. Italy's Benit Borasio was sent off after a foul on Daniel Frauscher and Moser sank the free-kick into the corner from more than 20 meters.
It is Austria's first appearance in a major tournament final since the U16s at the 1997 European Championships, while the U20s' semi-final in 2007 was their greatest success at World Cup level to date.
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