Balance, quality and surprise. Holland and Austria play an enjoyable match from both a tactical and technical point of view. It ends 3-2 for the Austrians, and it’s a result that, all things considered, suits both of them. Rangnick’s team is in fact first in group D (in the round of 16 against the second in group F), the Netherlands instead qualifies as third. The goals of Malen (own goal in the 6th minute), Schmid (59′) and Sabitzer (80′) were decisive, while the goals of Oranje Gakpo (47′) and Depay (75′) were useless.
the race
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Rangnick lines up the Austrians with the 4-2-3-1, but tries to add as much quality as possible. The left back is the Austrian champion (with Sturm Graz) Prass, usually employed in midfield. Schmid, Sabitzer and Wimmer instead move behind the lone striker Arnautovic. Holland responds with a 4-3-3 with De Vrij at the center of defence, with Reijnders at the center of midfield and Arnautovic in attack. The Oranje seem a little cautious, while the Austrians start off strongly straight away: in the 6th minute Arnautovic serves Prass who goes to cross, Malen intervenes in a disorganized manner and throws the ball into the net on his own. Austria does not change its attitude and, following instructions from Rangnick, continues to keep the ball and attack. The Austrian fans, in the 20th minute, even begin to underline, with a series of shouts, the various passes of their players, who continue to make the Netherlands run in vain, demonstrating great personality, but little happens from the front. The Netherlands only saw themselves like this in the 23rd minute, when, following a pass from Reijnders, Malen narrowly missed the target. Koeman puts Xavi Simons in for Veerman, trying to give him more sparkle, but the first opportunity, after the substitution, belongs to Austria, with Arnautovic, favored by a rebound, hitting badly and wasting badly.
second half
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In the second half the pace picks up: in the 47th minute Grillitsch loses the ball, Geertruida starts the counterattack by triggering Xavi Simons, who does well to serve Gakpo, who beats the opposing goalkeeper with a shot to the far post. The Oranje create and come close to taking the lead with Van Dijk, then waste it with De Vrij. In the 59th minute the Austrian goal was therefore unexpected: Grillitsch crossed from the outside and caught Schmid, who headed it 2-1. The Netherlands didn’t give up and found the equalizer in the 76th minute: following Gakpo’s cross, center forward Weghorst, who had come on only a few minutes earlier, found the tower for Depay who, despite having poor balance, managed to put the ball in the corner. The match is very lively and Austria takes the lead again: in the 80th minute Sabitzer, after an exchange with Baumgartner, beats the Dutch goalkeeper again. Two minutes later Austria also came close to scoring a poker, but Baumgartner’s goal was disallowed for offside. Holland tries to equalize, but does so in a confused manner, Rangnick’s team manages the advantage by keeping the ball. And so group D ends with Austria in first place. The Netherlands, also overtaken by France, will move into third.
