After the game, as always, Fuhrmann gathered her team in a circle on the pitch. “I told them that there weren’t the right words at the moment, but I can’t blame them because they tried everything and that it’s a good athlete to grow from a defeat like that, even if it’s the World Cup doesn’t bring it back,” the 42-year-old Viennese gave insight.
For Fuhrmann himself it was probably the most bitter defeat as a coach. It was already apparent before the break, as the ÖFB team did not find their way into the game. “I think that not every player was at the limit. You can’t afford that in a game like this,” Fuhrmann knew. Even during the course at the beginning of September, when there was a 10-0 win against North Macedonia after a 2-0 defeat against England, you didn’t perform as well as at the European Championship. “That was also crucial now.”
World Cup dream for Austrians burst
For Austria’s women’s team, the dream of participating in the World Cup for the first time has burst. The team lost 1-0 to Scotland in the first play-off game after extra time.
Harmless at the front, flawed at the back
Abigail Harrison (92nd) was a substitute who fixed the red-white-red backlash. Opportunities had previously been scarce on both sides. The best players on the Austrian side were a shot at the top of the bar by Julia Hickelsberger-Füller (43′) and substitute Katja Wienerroither, who failed twice in the end (85′, 87′). “In the end we were too harmless going forward, and you shouldn’t get a goal like that from a standard situation at the back,” summed up the ÖFB team boss.
Self-criticism was the order of the day for their kickers. “We lacked a bit of energy. We didn’t really get into the pressing, that’s rather unusual for us,” said offensive player Laura Feiersinger. Some might have lacked freshness due to league appearances on Sunday. “The weather wasn’t exactly great either, the pitch was very deep, that’s all a bit added,” said the Frankfurt legionnaire.
“It hurts incredibly”
The Scots coped better with the “British” conditions, and the rain and wind that has been going on since arrival on Monday may have had a bit of a hit on the guests’ minds. So the number 23 in the world remained successful against the number 20. “It’s a big disappointment because the team would have been ready for the World Cup,” said Fuhrmann. That’s why the players were really angry. “We know we are better than we have shown. That’s the bitter part. The fact that we don’t go to the World Cup is very painful,” said Feiersinger.
In line with the weather, many tears flowed, and for some it took a while before they were able to appear for the interview. “It hurts incredibly. I was in the vale of tears,” said Zinsberger. The aftermath of the defeat will be longer. “It will be a while before we really understand that the dream has burst,” said striker Nicole Billa, who was “really angry and disappointed”. According to Feiersinger, it will only really hurt in the summer of 2023 when the World Cup takes place in Australia and New Zealand.
Look ahead
It remains to be seen whether all the current team players are still in the ÖFB squad at that time, as for one or the other a lifelong dream has burst in Scotland’s national stadium. “We’ll see if something happens now, I can’t estimate that yet,” said Fuhrmann. There is no need to worry about Feiersinger, as she announced that she would like to start another World Cup.
It is important for the team to look ahead. That’s difficult because the next major event with the European Championship is not due until 2025. “Time heals wounds,” Zinsberger was certain. Failure would be part of it. “Things went well at the EM in 2017 and in 2022 too. Not now. It’s normal for us to get stuck at some point,” explained the Arsenal legionnaire. Instead of providing the next highlight after the quarter-finals of the European Championship with the first World Cup participation, a longer period of non-competitive play awaits.
It remains to be seen whether this will cause women’s football in Austria to suffer another setback. “Of course it’s not a good situation because it would have been important to remain visible,” Fuhrmann was aware. But it is also a fact that participating in the World Cup play-off was a historic success, so objectively speaking, 2022 was a successful year overall. “When you see what we’ve achieved, it shouldn’t under any circumstances throw women’s football back,” said Billa.
