After a 2:5 debacle against Israel: Austria’s terrified pile of chickens

Sunday, September 5, 2021

After the 2:5 defeat against Israel
Austrian Scare Chicken Pile

In the summer, Austria will be in the European Championship round of 16, where they will be up against eventual tournament winners Italy. German coach Franco Foda’s team lost to Israel in the first game after the break. “Very bitter,” says David Alaba. “Just embarrassing,” Kronenzeitung says.

“It’s just embarrassing” – Kronenzeitung’s decision was disastrous after the Austrian national football team’s 2:5 (1:3) in Haifa against Israel. The paper compared the red-white-red selection to a “fearful pile of chickens.” The spirit of optimism has finally faded after first stepping into the EM Round of 16 in the summer of 2021.

“Very bitter”, commented captain and former Bayern star David Alaba, “if you go home with 2:5 and are the better team in the first half, something is wrong.” German coach Franco Foda’s team slipped to fourth place in Group F after the defeat.

Half-time balance after five matches: two wins, one draw, two losses, seven points. Only the football dwarfs the Faroe Islands and Moldova (both 1 point) worse. Table leaders Denmark are already away with all points (15), with Israel ten points in the play-offs at least within reach. The holey defense from Frankfurt around Martin Hinterger gives little hope. Eran Jahvi (33rd/90th), Manor Solomon (5th), Hoffenheim’s Munas Dabber (20th) and Shaun Weisman (58th) consistently highlighted the Austrians’ weaknesses. For the first four hits, Israel had to score only four times.

Alaba EM adds to the spirit

On the other hand, the OFB team, which counted 19 shots on goal at the end, had several top-class chances, but succeeded only through Hoffenheim’s Christoph Baumgartner (42nd) and former Bremer Marko Arnatovic (55th). There is one less setback with the embarrassment announcement. In the summer, EM also faced difficulties. In a 3–1 success in qualifying against the Faroe Islands at the World Cup, Alaba and Co. avoided bankruptcy with much effort, a bitter 4–0 defeat against Denmark just before the start of the European Championship. The shot was the right time. The FB selection reached the first EM round of 16 in the history of the association in great solidarity.

There was no trace in Haifa of the dangerous team that almost knocked out eventual European champions Italy (2:1 nV) from the tournament. “We haven’t been able to create the same atmosphere in the last few days as it was a few months ago,” Alaba complained. The Austrians are already under a lot of pressure against Scotland on Tuesday (8.45 pm) at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. Before the trend-setting duel, Alaba wants to embody the EM sentiment. “We know that we can play more successfully,” Alba insisted: “We have already proved that many times.”