Poland and Austria desired a win in the Olympiastadion on June 21 to advance to the 1/8 round. Austria fell 0-1 to France and Poland 1-2 to the Netherlands in the opener. Also a balanced contest. FIFA ranks Austria 25th, one ahead of Poland. A 1-1 Euro 2008 group stage draw was the only major tournament match between these two traditional red and white clubs.

Both teams switched three spots and left their mark compared to the first match. Poland replaced Kacper Urbanski, Sebastian Szymanski, and injured Bartosz Salamon with Pawel Dawidowicz, Jakub Piotrowski, and Krzysztof Piatek. Austrian coach Ralf Rangnick replaced Kevin Danso and Maximilian Wober, who scored an own goal against France, with Gernot Trauner and Philipp Lienhart and started 35-year-old veteran striker Marko Arnautovic over Michael Gregoritsch.

In the stands, Polish fans lit flares, opening the contest in white haze. Austria started the game better and sped up the game, confusing the Poles.

After a left-wing throw-in, Phillipp Mwene kicked the ball past Przemyslaw Frankowski in the 9th minute. After the Austrian defender crossed into the penalty area, Gernot Trauner rose high and headed at the near post to score. Austria scored its first Euro goal and the first in a major event since the 1954 World Cup, scoring two goals in four minutes against Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia).

Poland awoke and created opportunities. After Frankowski passed to the far post between several players in the 18th minute, Nicola Zalewski fired over the bar from an empty position. Off the pitch, the camera captured Lewandowski’s face and twice showed him talking to assistance coaches.

Pressure from Poland paid off in the 30th minute. Jakub Kiwior controlled with his thigh and passed inside for Jan Bednarek to cushion Trauner from close range in the left penalty area. Piatek controlled the ball, put it past him, and scored from 6 metres into the bottom right corner to tie the match.

Lаst 15 minutes оf first hаlf аnԀ first 15 minutes оf secоnԀ hаlf were Tense. In the 42nԀ minute, Mаrcel Sаbitzer’s lоng-rаnge Ԁrive misseԀ the pоst, while Zielinski’s 26-meter free kιck intо the right cоrner wаs sаveԀ by Pаtrιck Pentz in the first minute оf ιnjury time.

Michal Probiez substituted Lewandowski and Karol Swiderski for Poland’s Euro scorers Piatek and Buksa in the 60th minute. Four minutes later, Lewy was yellow carded for an aerial challenge with Lienhart, the match’s only mark. After that, Austrians dominated the game.

The 63rd minute substitution of Alexander Prass for left back Mwene showed Coach Ragnick’s superb personnel management. After four minutes, Prass played a low pass from the left flank to the middle, surprising Arnautovic by lifting his foot to release the ball. Cast uncertainty on the Polish defence. Christoph Baumgartner grabbed the ball with ease and fired into the right corner to deceive Wojciech Szczesny and give Austria the lead again.

Pоland is quick tо make mistakes, whereas Austria is calmer. Gоalkeeper Patrick Pentz grabbed the ball frоm the hоme penalty area and Һit a Pоlish defender in the 77th minute. Sabitzer stоle the ball and slid it intо the penalty area while Jan Bednarek hesitated. The fоrmer Man Utd midfielder earned a penalty by pushing the ball left beyоnd the fоuled player against the custоdian. At 11m, Arnautоvic calmly struck intо the bоttоm right cоrner, fооling Szczesny.

In the final minutes, Poland lost morale. Without an overjoyed Szczesny blocking Stefan Posch’s long-range attempt in the 83rd minute, Austria could have won more. Austrian players coordinated in a triangle with a football in the middle and passed into the penalty area two minutes later. Konrad Laimer dribbled past the custodian but missed the post with a narrow effort in front of an empty goal.

Team members and Austrian fans celebrated the 3-1 win. The final round need one more point against the Netherlands to get four points and a +1 goal difference, which is enough to finish in the top 4 third teams with the best records.

Poland had little chance of advancing as France drew 0-0 with the Netherlands. They are four points behind the two teams above, three points behind Austria, and head-to-head disadvantaged.

The starters

Wojciech Szczesny, Jan Bednarek, Pawel Dawidowicz, Jakub Kiwior, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Piotr Zielinski, Bartosz Slisz, Jakub Piotrowski, Nicola Zalewski, Krzysztof Piatek, Adam Buk

Austrians: Patrick Pentz, Stefan Posch, Gernot Trauner, Philipp Lienhart, Phillipp Mwene, Nicolas Seiwald, Florian Grillitsch, Christoph Baumgartner, Konrad Laimer, Marcel Sabitzer, Marko Ar