Just like when England faces Northern Ireland, when Germany and Austria play each other, FIFA rankings don’t matter – it’s never easy for either side. For better or worse, the players in these teams know each other just too well, as most of them have played or are still playing in the Bundesliga, the German national championship. They communicate in the same language, they are familiar with each other’s style of play, they are aware of each other’s weaknesses and they know that their opponents are not invincible.
All the unexpected first-half things
Austria started the game confidently, with at least two successful back-heel passes, several corners and some decent chances early on. Unexpectedly for most spectators (and most likely for players on both sides), Germany had to sit deep and focus on their defence for the first quarter of the match.
As a more dominant team, Germany was expected to be in possession most of the time, so all that remained for Austria was to stay 100% concentrated and to be clinical with their chances. Overall, Austria played a well-organised game: they defended well, found spaces, confidently moved forward and had their moments. Sadly for Austrians, the woodwork played for Germany this time, and their concentration failed them for one split second – enough for Germany to score.
In the 25th minute of the game, Lina Magull scored a goal that took some time to process. The goal-scoring opportunity seemed to have appeared from nowhere: Klara Bühl entered the Austrian box at full speed, made an accurate pass towards Alex Popp, who then masterfully stepped over the ball, leaving it for Lina Magull. No powershot was needed: Zinsberger was fully concentrated on Popp, leaving the left side of the goal unprotected. All Magull needed to do was calmly redirect the ball into the back of the net.
“That’s football. It’s one centimetre left or right but I can’t blame my team for anything. They tried everything, we had periods where we really challenged Germany and this is something that we have to build on and now we have to bring in new players and the veterans have to stay on the ball and I think we will have a great future with this national team.” Irene Fuhrmann, Austria’s manager
Germany’s Top Superpowers
From the Austrian perspective, it was a very disappointing way to concede. It felt like, had they remained focused the entire time, the goal could have been avoided. But from the German perspective, this goal came not from Austrian weaknesses, but from Germany’s strengths.
Firstly, it illustrated how efficient and clinical this team is. They may have only a few chances per game but their percentage of conversion is very high. Secondly, with this goal, Germany has shown that in terms of communication, awareness and mutual understanding, they are second to none. And if that’s not enough, the second goal exposed yet another Germany’s superpower: scoring from high pressing.
Had the first goal been avoided, we could have enjoyed watching the Austrians contain the German goal-scoring machine for 90 minutes straight. Yet, the Austrian fairy-tale wasn’t meant to last. After a crucial mistake by Arsenal’s Golden Glove-winning goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger, who underestimated the speed and angle of an approaching attacker, Austrian chances of advancing were effectively eliminated.
Like the first goal, mistake or not, it is fair to attribute the second to the persistence of Alex Popp, who continued with high pressing in the 90th minute of the game. This is the way Germany scored against Denmark, this is how they scored against Spain, and now they have done it again against Austria. Opponents should finally learn that Germany scores from the high press and that it may not be a good idea to play on the edge in your penalty area.
Post-game Reaction
Germany goes into the semi-final with a comfortable score, a clean sheet (they have yet to concede their first goal in this tournament), and their tactic of high aggressive pressing is still bringing them goals and wins. But contrary to what everyone expected, Germany did not absolutely smash Austria and until the 90th minute, it was not unthinkable to see yet another game postponing BBC news at ten.
Even though Germany won with a comfortable score, I would never say that they won “comfortably”. It was a tight game and the Germans had to sweat a lot to send their opponents back to the Alpes. Austria stayed in the game until the end and, as some commentator said, gave the eight-time European champions a really good run for their money.
Until this game, Germany benefited from its position as an underdog among the favourites and was not under much pressure during the group stage. After thrashing Denmark and comfortably winning over Spain, the expectations have risen and Germany has to learn to live and play with this new reality. The ability to play well under pressure is what distinguishes true champions and it remains to be seen if this winning mentality is still part of Germany’s DNA.
Photos from the fixture by James Whitehead:
Written by Olesia Andersen
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