Conference League
A draw isn’t enough! Austria misses out on the group stage
The Conference League group stage will take place this year without any Austrian clubs. Following Rapid, Austria also failed to qualify and thus missed out on the Conference League entry fee of 3.17 million euros. Despite a strong performance, Coach Stephan Helm’s team could not manage more than a 0–0 draw against Sporting Braga on Thursday evening at Franz-Horr Stadium in front of 9,700 spectators. That was not enough after their 0–2 loss in the first leg of the playoff.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen Before the game, Austria announced the extension of Daniel Nnodim’s contract through 2030. The 18-year-old right back made his way into the first team through the Violets’ academy and junior ranks. “These are the stories we want to tell here,” said sporting director Tomas Zorn. Nnodim started the match on the bench.
As feared, Helm had to do without Ibrahim Buhari (broken middle finger) and Jonas Feddersen (infection) in central defense. The coach made three changes to his starting lineup compared to the first leg: Lee Kang-hee, Florian Wustinger, and Kelvin Boateng started in place of Buhari, Philipp Maybach, and Vasilije Markovic.
Austria played aggressively, while Braga operated more in a defensive mode and was primarily interested in holding onto its first-leg lead. Solid at the back, the “Violets” lacked precision up front. A pass from Johannes Eggestein found no takers in the penalty area (14th minute). Shortly afterward, the German was denied by visiting goalkeeper Bernardo Fontes (20th minute), who, however, parried the ball too short.
Hettwer was unable to capitalize on the follow-up. Two minutes later, Boateng shot over the bar. After that, Austria’s offense fizzled out. Gabriel Silva tested Samuel Sahin-Radlinger for the first time (40th minute), and Johannes Handl made a last-ditch clearance against Pau Victor (41st minute).
Lack of Penetration
For the second half, Helm brought on Sanel Saljic for Hettwer. The nature of the game changed little; the hosts continued to try hard but lacked the necessary firepower. Eggestein narrowly missed a cross from Ranftl (52'). After that, Nnodim and Markovic were also sent into the game (65th). Things got dicey at the other end, though: Sahin-Radlinger saved his team from falling behind with a stop against substitute Diogo Travassos (70th). While veteran star Joao Moutinho—who had otherwise been a quiet presence—picked up a yellow card (79'), time ran out in favor of the visitors, who ultimately kept a clean sheet against Austria over the course of 180 minutes.
Austria Vienna – Sporting Braga 0–0
Vienna, Franz-Horr Stadium, 9,702 spectators, Referee Dabanovic (MNE)
First leg 0–2 – Braga advances with a 2–0 aggregate score in the league phase
Austria: Sahin-Radlinger – Handl, Dragovic (80. Deshishku), Lee K., Lee T. – Ranftl (65. Nnodim), Wustinger, Fischer – Boateng (65. Markovic), Eggestein (72' Wels), Hettwer (46' Saljic)
Braga: Fontes – Gomez, Lagerbielke, V. Carvalho, Bajrami – Tiknaz, Moutinho, Rodrigues (55' Dorgeles) – Victor (83' Milosevic), Navarro (55' Travassos), Silva (91' Martinez)
Yellow cards: Fischer , Lee T., Boateng, Helm (coach) and Navarro, Moutinho
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