IN 2021
First extension: Italy wrestles strong Austrians
Federico Chiesa celebrates his redeeming 1-0 in extra time
© Frank Augstein / AP / / DPA
The knockout round of the EM has started. In the second round of 16 there was the first extension of the tournament. Strong Austrians lost to top favorite Italy in a surprisingly tight match.
Austria is only a hair’s margin of a sensation at this European Football Championship. The team around Bayern star David Alaba showed a particularly strong performance against highly-favored Italians. In a game that was 0-0 into extra time, Austria had several chances to take the lead. A goal from Arnautovic was withdrawn because of an offside position.
In the extension, however, the Austrians had to pay tribute to their high level of commitment. Ice-cold Italians made two goals out of two chances and set the course for the quarter-finals in the first round of extra time. Federico Chiesa (95th minute) and Matteo Pessina (105th) scored the decisive goals for their country. Austria showed morale again even after falling behind and even came back through Sasa Kalajdzic (114th). It was the first goal the Italians conceded at this tournament. This resulted in another exciting final phase, which the Italians ultimately got through.
Italy will now face the winner of the match between Belgium and Portugal in Munich on Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. The latter game will be played on Sunday at 9 p.m. Before that, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic play. Their opponents were already determined in the first game on Saturday.
Denmark had convincingly beaten Wales 4-0 in the early evening and confidently secured the ticket for the round of the last eight.
Good news from the German national team
The German national team will play their round of 16 against England on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. in Wembley. But on Saturday Thomas Müller reported fully fit after his knee problems. “We can put that aside. I am convinced that this will not be a problem for Tuesday,” said the 31-year-old at the training camp in Herzogenaurach. National coach Joachim Löw can probably fall back on his entire squad for the game at Wembley Stadium except for Lukas Klostermann. The Leipziger was still absent from training on Saturday due to a torn muscle fiber.
