Against Slovakia, Kalajdzic, Sabitzer and Baumgartner let themselves be played with their backs to the goal, especially in the area in front of the opponent’s defense, what was missing for my taste was the presence of these players on the last defensive line and runs behind this row. Well-rehearsed procedures would help to be one step ahead of the opponent.
Little of that was to be seen in the first half. After the break it got better, but not because of suddenly better processes, but because of the substitutions of Arnautovic, Schaub and Laimer.
Franco Foda has a few days left to work on these things. To avoid déjà vu, positional play and play in possession of the ball urgently need to be improved. Otherwise we will be left empty-handed with the best Austrian national team of all time.
