By Philip O’Connor
BERLIN (Reuters) – Austria and Netherlands meet in their final Euro 2024 Group D game on Tuesday with their fates firmly in their own hands and both sides can still finish in the top two and guarantee a last-16 place.
The Dutch top the group on four points ahead of France on goals scored, with Austria third on three points having bounced back from a 1-0 defeat by France to beat Poland 3-1 with a superb performance.
The win over Poland kick-started Austria’s campaign after a 1-0 defeat by France, but they still have work to do.
“If we calculate, we’re still not through, we need at least one more point – you could say with four points it’s quite sure that you will go through to the knockout round,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick told reporters.
Poland’s second defeat in two games ensured they cannot progress, leaving Austria, the Dutch and France to battle for the top two spots, or to be among the four best third-placed teams, which would also send them into the last 16.
The scoreless draw with France on Friday did not ignite the fervour of the Dutch fans as Ronald Koeman’s side adopted a pragmatic approach.
“There were times during the game where we weren’t up to scratch and that’s probably due to the fact that we were up against a great opponent in France,” Koeman said.
“But we have four points from two games and played against the big favourites. I would have signed up for that beforehand, I’m happy,” he added.
Austria, on the other hand, played superbly and came through adversity against Poland, weathering a storm to see out the first half and scoring twice in the second to secure victory.
However, their loss in the opening game to France raised the stakes. If Austria were to draw with the Dutch and France lose to Poland, the Austrians will still finish third in the group due to their-head-to-head record with France, giving them every incentive to win in Berlin on Tuesday.
“We are playing a strong opponent, we know that. They like to play out from the back, so we need our press, our high press, our intense press,” Austria’s Marcel Sabitzer said.
“If we do that and produce that on the pitch, we’re very strong and I’m confident we can do that,” he added.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
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