Poland v Austria LIVE: Result and reaction as Marko Arnautovic scores penalty to seal key victory
Poland 1-3 Austria: Robert Lewandowski returned from the bench but his side’s hopes of reaching the last-16 suffered a major blow with defeat
Austria secured a 3-1 victory over Poland in their Euro 2024 Group D match to renew hopes of a top-two finish and a spot in the knockout stage while leaving their opponents in last place with no points and only a slim chance of advancing.
In a furious start, the Austrians, now on three points from two matches - as many as France and Netherlands who meet later on Friday - applied early pressure and it paid off in the ninth minute with Gernot Trauner’s powerful header at the near post.
Poland, who have now lost both of their matches, levelled through Krzysztof Piatek’s his second attempt in the box after his first effort was blocked on the half-hour mark.
Fit-again Poland striker Robert Lewandowski came on in the 60th minute but it was Austria who scored twice more, first with a flowing move and Christoph Baumgartner finish just inside the box in the 66th and a Marco Arnautovic penalty 12 minutes later.
Follow all the reaction to Poland v Austria below, and catch the latest updates from France vs Netherlands in Group D here
Euro 2024: Poland 0-0 Austria
3 mins
Sabitzer tries to poke it through to Arnautovic, but he can’t get it under control. Soon after, Frankowski heads Arnautivic’s cross behind for a corner.
All Austria at the moment.
Euro 2024: Poland 0-0 Austria
1 min
The first effort of the night comes from distance from Posch, but it bounces harmlessly to Szczesny.
KICK-OFF! Poland 0-0 Austria
KICK-OFF!
The captains exchange the pennants and there’s a brief moment of silence in the memory of Gerhard Aigner, a former general secretary of Uefa.
We’re all set for kick-off. Both sides desperately need at least one point tonight. After the countdown, Austria get us underway in the capital.
Euro 2024: Poland v Austria
We’re around five minutes from kick-off in the capital. Both teams are out of the tunnel and the national anthems will be underway shortly.
Head-to-head
Poland and Austria have met 11 times on the international stage, with their fixtures dating as far back as 1930.
The sides faced off in the qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup, with Poland winning both fixtures (3-1 and 3-2 respectively.
And the two sides last met in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2020, with a 1-0 Poland win in Vienna in March 2019 followed by a 0-0 draw in Warsaw in September.
The most high-profile game between the two came in Group B at Euro 2008, when tournament co-hosts Austria scored a 95th-minute penalty to equalise in game two (though both sides eventually went out at the group stage in a group that also contained Germany and Croatia).
Overall, Poland hace won six of the meetings between the two, with Austria winning three and two ending as draws.
Poland v Austria LIVE
Attention now turns to the second game of the day, and we move to Group D as Poland face Austria in Berlin.
Austria’s opening Euro 2024 fixture has become more notable for the injury to Kylian Mbappe than for the largely impressive performance Austria themselves showed, but they’ll need to do it all again and find a result this time when they face Poland.
The second round of games brings added pressure for those who failed to find victory first time out, as opportunities to reach the last 16 quickly feel as though they’re about to run out - though at least Ralf Rangnick’s side have the consolation of knowing their defeat was to Group D’s top seeds in France.
Poland were beaten by Netherlands and though it was a narrow scoreline in the end, a more clinical Oranje in the first half could have seen the Poles heavily swept aside.
This meeting between the two carries added weight given the knowledge that a single win could be enough to sneak through in third place; lose here though and it’s surely all over for Poland at least.
The same Mykhailo Mudryk, but different? Chelsea man adapts to inspire Ukraine
Mykhailo Mudryk sprung off the turf, rising through the drizzle to meet the ball with the badge on his jersey, before guiding it deftly to the grass below. Then, he turned, driving forward into the ever-widening channel in front of him. Slovakia’s goal grew bigger and bigger before him, as he drew closer and closer. But it would never be sizeable enough to contain his shot. It was an ugly finish in all honesty, slashed high, wide and hopeless.
It was a moment to sum up his brief Euro 2024 campaign up to that point, but more than that, it was an extension of a dispiriting first 18 months at Chelsea. The Ukrainian has been praised by fans of the club for his application, an admirable quality, but so far he has provided lots of endeavour and very little product for the Blues.
And on Friday, clad from neck to ankle in yellow rather than blue, this was a different Mudryk, yet the same Mudryk.
The same Mykhailo Mudryk, but different? Chelsea winger adapts to inspire Ukraine
Slovakia 1-2 Ukraine: The Chelsea winger’s nation came from behind to secure a crucial Group E win
Poland v Austria line-ups
AUSTRIA XI: Pentz; Posch, Trauner, Lienhart, Mwene; Seiwald, Grillitsch; Laimer, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautovic
Ukraine come from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1
Here are some photos from the match:
Ukraine come from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1
Full time: Ukraine have worked hard to come from behind and claim victory in a match they started sluggishly.
Schranz gave Slovakia a crucial goal in the 17th minute, and it took until after the half time break for the equaliser.
Shaparenko fired in a leveller before Yaremchuk hit the winner with a very clever piece of play.
Ukraine fought hard to hold on to victory and keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive.
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