Austria holds seven points after five rounds, Slovenia is at the top of the table with twelve points ahead of France with nine. The “Equipe Tricolore”, who were beaten 2-0 away by the ÖFB team in November, also have one less game in their account.
Although Austria dominated the game, the guests took the lead from their first chance when Zanos Savva sank a shot from 20 meters (55th). An own goal after a Stangl pass from substitute Yusuf Demir meant the equalizer (65th), but Ioannis Satsias made the Cypriots celebrate again (90th). Riegler headed the equalizer after a corner from Demir (98′).
Satsias scores to make it 2-1 for Cyprus (90th)
In the 90th minute, Ioannis Satsias made it 2-1 for Cyprus and gave the guests hope for their first victory in the European Championship qualification.
Demir and Co. showed against the French with a sensational 2-0 home win in Ried in the autumn. This time the Innviertel Arena was not fertile ground. For long stretches, the favorite was unable to make much of an impression on the offensive in front of 1,400 spectators, including Christoph Lang, who had been moved down from the A team. There was also negligence on the defensive end.
“Mistakes that shouldn’t happen”
“If you get two or three shots on goal, and those are goals, those are mistakes that shouldn’t happen,” said Gregoritsch in the ORF interview. His team appeared unusually nervous. Before the break she couldn’t cope at all on the offensive. In general, the performance left a lot to be desired. “We have to have a lot more resources in terms of play. Today the quality of football playing wasn’t good enough. You have to be that honest.” The Styrian hasn’t given up on his European Championship dream yet. “It will be very difficult, we won’t give up,” said Gregoritsch.
Savva completes the counterattack to make it 1-0 (52.)
Zanos Savva capitalized on a counterattack from the guests and gave Cyprus a 1-0 lead.
Before the break, only Pascal Estrada (15th), Thierno Ballo (25th) and Matthias Braunöder (34th) were dangerous. On the other hand, only a header from Irodotos Christodoulou (32′) went just wide. Immediately after the restart, the guests took the lead. After a counterattack, Savva (52′), who wasn’t attacked enough, hit the far corner from almost 20 meters. Demir came into the game after an hour and brought momentum. The Swiss legionnaire went down the line in the penalty area and his cross deflected goalie Stefanos Kittos into the goal through his own legs.
Own goal to equalize for Austria (65th)
Demir went down the line in the penalty area and his cross deflected goalie Stefanos Kittos into the goal through his own legs.
In the 90th minute, the home team failed to get the ball away after a corner and then lost sight of Giannis Satsias, who finished in the middle. In the nine minutes of injury time, Austria became more dangerous than in the previous 90 minutes. Nicolas Binder (93′), Demir (97′) and Estrada, who prevented a shot from Bernhard Zimmermann (98′), missed before Riegler was successful with a header in the last action from Demir’s corner. This resulted in a draw like the 1-1 test on Friday in the same place against Denmark.
The next qualifying game is not until September 6th in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first and the three best runners-up in the nine groups qualify for the European Championships in Slovakia, the remaining six runners-up have to go to the play-offs.
U21 European Championship qualification, Group H
Table: 1. Slovenia 5 4 0 1 9:5 12 2. France 4 3 0 1 15:3 9 3.
Austria
5 2 2 1 7:4 8 4. Bosnia-Herzegovina 5 1 0 4 4:10 3 5. Cyprus 5 0 2 3 4:17 2
Mode: The nine group winners and the three best runners-up are guaranteed at the 2025 European Championship in Slovakia, six other group runners-up are fighting in the play-off for three more European Championship tickets.
Schedule: 09/07/23 Cyprus
Austria
1:1 07.09.23 Bosnia-Herzegovina Slovenia 1:2 11.09.23 Slovenia France 0:4 12.09.23
Austria
Bosnia-Herzegovina 2:0 10/13/23 Cyprus Slovenia 0:3 10/13/23 Bosnia-Herzegovina France 1:2 10/17/23 Slovenia
Austria
1:0 10/17/23 France Cyprus 9:0 11/17/23
Austria
France 2:0 11/17/23 Cyprus Bosnia-Herzegovina 1:2 03/22/24 Slovenia Bosnia-Herzegovina 3:0 03/26/24
Austria
Cyprus 2:2 09/06/24 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Austria
06.09.24 France Slovenia 10.09.24 France Bosnia-Herzegovina 10.09.24 Slovenia Cyprus 11.10.24
Austria
Slovenia 10/11/24 Cyprus France 10/15/24 France
Austria
10/15/24 Bosnia-Herzegovina Cyprus
