Football Austria can breathe a sigh of relief! The ÖFB troupe has a World Cup play-off spot and is now fighting for the last tickets for Qatar.
After the victory against Israel and the sign of life that it brought, a stone fell from the hearts of the ÖFB stars on Friday. But already on Saturday evening the tension came up again. The red-white-red national team looked at the games in Group D.
There France secured the group victory with an 8-0 win against Kazakhstan, with Austria taking part in the World Cup play-off in March. As a reminder: The reigning world champion was not allowed to slip out of the top 2. The ÖFB would have been given enough help from France’s group opponent Bosnia-Herzegovina in the sense of a victory against Finland. The Bosnians lost 3-1 in the afternoon.
Spain and Italy provided rifle aid
Austria made a big step towards the play-off and the last chance for a ticket for Qatar on Friday. Since Spain fixed the achievement of a top 2 place in group A. Likewise, the matchday in group C brought a preliminary decision in favor of the ÖFB selection. Italy and Switzerland parted 1: 1, the Iberians can no longer be pushed out of the top 2. In Belgium, another direct opponent of David Alaba & Co. in the fight for the play-off, the fixation of a top 2 place was already certain before the 3-1 victory against Belarus on Saturday.
“I haven’t played a World Cup yet, none of us. It’s a huge goal of ours, “Alaba dreams of the finals. Although this will only be possible through the Nations League or play-off anchor, the team is “very positive”, emphasized the Real star. Twelve nations will fight for the last three tickets in March. A semi-final and a final in knockout mode are waiting for us.
