IIsrael develops into the feared opponent of the Austrian national soccer team. After the ÖFB selection had already lost 4-2 in qualifying for the European Championship, the team again suffered a major bankruptcy on Saturday evening in the fight for the World Cup tickets for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. It was 2: 5 (1: 3) at the end and there are plenty of parallels between the two games.
The game in March 2019 also took place in Haifa. In addition, Andreas Herzog, an Austrian, was on the sidelines with Israel. Willibald Ruttensteiner is now in charge. He is also from the Alpine republic and was even ÖFB sports director for years. And then there is Enes Zahavi. The PSV Eindhoven attacker scored six goals against Austria in the last three games.
Zahavi, Ruttensteiner and Co. had to fight, but were also able to rely on the help of the Austrian players. In the front they left out numerous top-class players and in the back the defensive made serious blunders. “They were punished bitterly,” said ÖFB team boss Franco Foda. “But there are several factors – short preparation, some players who are not there – but we don’t want to look for excuses. The difference was simply the efficiency in front of the gate. “
The rebellion after the early 3-0 deficit (33rd) was not enough and so Israel, second in Group F, can dream of participating in the World Cup, while Austria threatens to lose sight of the top positions. After another setback, the pressure on the Foda team increases. Against third Scotland a victory must be here on Tuesday. After all, there will be no Austrian in the opposing coaching bench with Steve Clarke, Enes Zahavi will not be there and the game will be played in Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium.
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