Late Victory at the "Acker"

LIVE: The Austrian national team is pressing but hasn’t created any real danger

Austria’s women’s team wins in Kosovo.(Bild: Jasmin Walter / ÖFB)

Austria’s women’s soccer team has taken its first major step toward a historic World Cup debut: In the first leg of the first playoff round, they secured a narrow 2-1 victory in Kosovo despite poor field conditions.

Goals by Louis Schöffel (37th minute) and Nicole Billa (81st minute) turned the match in favor of the Red-White-Red. Underdog Kosovo had taken the lead as early as the 14th minute through Erëleta Memeti.

Return Leg on Tuesday
The second leg will take place on Tuesday (6 p.m.) at Sport-Club-Platz in Vienna. The Austrian women aim to make history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. To do so, however, they will likely also have to eliminate Switzerland—which won its first-leg match against Israel 7–3—in the second round.

The ÖFB women’s team had to fight hard for a long time.(Bild: Jasmin Walter / ÖFB)

ÖFB head coach Lars Söndergaard made five changes from the 1–2 loss in Norway in the final qualifying match. New additions to the back three were Sarah Gutmann and Virginia Kirchberger-Prohaska; in midfield, Annabel Schasching and Schöffel joined the lineup; and Marie-Therese Höbinger made her comeback as part of an attacking trio. As expected, only one of the three players returning from long-term injuries made the starting lineup. Sarah Zadrazil and Lilli Purtscheller took their places on the bench, as did Austria Vienna’s attacking star Modesta Uka, who is struggling with adductor issues.

A Cold Shower for the ÖFB Women’s Team
The ÖFB squad played an aggressive, high-pressure game from the start, but an early header by Kirchberger-Prohaska lacked power (7th minute). The Kosovar women only made one dangerous foray into the opponent’s half in the first 45 minutes, but they were immediately successful when they did. A counterattack launched from their own penalty area was executed to perfection, and in the end, Ereleta Memeti (14th minute) of Eintracht Frankfurt—who had also helped set up the play—finished it off with clinical precision. The Austrians made things very easy for the hosts with their lackluster defensive work.

An immediate equalizer was in the air; a volley by Eileen Campbell hit the crossbar (16th minute). In addition, Gutmann (29th minute) and Sarah Puntigam (36th minute) missed the goal. One minute later, the score was tied at 1–1. A cross into the box found no one to head it, but Schöffel reacted with lightning speed and, with a bit of luck, sent the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. The 24-year-old will long remember her fourth international match for this moment. Otherwise, however, Söndergaard’s team struggled to find solutions against Kosovo’s deep-lying 5-4-1 formation. The quality of passing also left much to be desired—though this was partly due to difficult field conditions.

Billa’s Golden Goal Scorer
Even after the break, Schasching and her teammates lacked ideas for breaking down the home team’s defensive wall from open play. The only real danger came initially from a Höbinger corner kick. Kirchberger-Prohaska flicked it on, and Gutmann missed the ball from close range, sending it wide (57'). In the 62nd minute, Zadrazil made her return, and the 17-year-old Valentina Pötzl made her debut. With Billa up front, there was also a new striker in the lineup. After missed chances by Schöffel (66th) and Zadrazil (68'), it was the Tyrolean who ultimately saved the day for the ÖFB squad. After a cross from Klein, she headed the ball off the crossbar and then tapped it in from point-blank range with another header.

Uka was unable to make a decisive impact for Kosovo, coached by Sanije Krasniqi, after the 78th minute. This gave Söndergaard his second victory in his third international match. Given a 16-2 advantage in shots on goal, the win was well-deserved.

Final score:
Kosovo – Austria 1–2 (1–1)
, Pristina, Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri, Referee: Georgieva (BUL)
Goals: 1–0 (14') Memeti, 1–1 (37') Schöffel, 1–2 (81') Billa
Yellow card for Austria: Zadrazil
Austria: El Sherif – Gutmann, Kirchberger-Prohaska, Klein – Schöffel, Schasching, Puntigam, Hanshaw (62. Pötzl) – Höbinger (62' Zadrazil), Campbell (62' Billa), Dunst (74' Ojukwu)

Other Match:
Israel – Switzerland 3–7 (2–2)
Mezokovesd
Goals: Sommer (20', 35', 53') and Reuteler (14'), Beney (45'+1), Schertenleib (47'), Xhemaili (65., 73.), Kamber (91., 93.)
Return match on Tuesday in Sion (7:30 p.m.)

Second and final playoff round between November 26 and December 5 (winner qualifies for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil): Austria/Kosovo – Switzerland/Israel