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Nations League: Gregoritsch sees criticism as an incentive

“You can see that the demands have changed when you consider that we have won twice and have been criticized both times,” said the Styrian of the APA on Monday immediately before the flight from Belfast to Bucharest. “The fact that you almost have to justify yourself after two wins is new. But in a certain way it is also praise. “

The ÖFB selection had offered a strong performance in the 1-0 in Northern Ireland in the first half, but missed some high-profile chances. After the break, there was a relapse, but the hosts only had a real chance to score, and that in the 92nd minute.

Austria wins in Northern Ireland

Austria’s national team celebrated a narrow 1-0 away win over Northern Ireland in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday evening. In Belfast, striker Michael Gregoritsch became the match winner in the 42nd minute.

“Don’t see everything in black and white”

“You shouldn’t always see everything in black and white,” demanded Gregoritsch. “We lost too many balls after the break. Then you get insecure, the Northern Irish had to risk more, and many of our players are a bit tired, and you make slight mistakes. Nevertheless, apart from the chance at the end, we didn’t allow anything, our victory was completely deserved, ”emphasized the Ausburg professional.

Gregoritsch’s fourth goal in his 21st international match brought the decision at Windsor Park. “I don’t know if it was my most important goal in the national team,” said the Styrian. In any case, it is more important that the ÖFB selection pushed itself to first place in the group due to the success. “We wanted to establish ourselves at the top so that it is in our own hands to finish first.”

Gregoritsch remains modest

Gregoritsch not only put his stamp on the game in Belfast. On Wednesday in Klagenfurt, the offensive player against Greece came on when the score was 0: 1 and was partly responsible for the turnaround to the 2-1 victory not only because of his assist to equalize. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old was modest. “I don’t think I can be called the winner of the course. But I’m happy that I had an influence on the result in both games. “

With his recent appearances Gregoritsch presented himself as an alternative to the missing Marko Arnautovic. “Everyone knows the value of Marko, but it’s really good when we show that we can win even without extremely important players,” said the German legionnaire.

Endurance test in Romania

The ÖFB players can also provide this proof on Wednesday (8.45 p.m., live on ORF1 and in the livestream) when it comes to Romania in Ploiesti. The World Cup quarter-finalist from 2000 had to accept serious setbacks with the out in the EM play-off semifinals against Iceland and the 0: 4 in the Nations League in Norway. “But they won against us in September (3-2 in Klagenfurt, note), so they won’t have such a bad feeling,” suspected Gregoritsch.

Nevertheless, the son of ÖFB-U21 team boss Werner Gregoritsch was confident. “If we play our game on the pitch in terms of football and are defensively good, there is no way around a victory for us. But it will be hard work for 90 minutes. “

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