Austria drew 2-2 with Scotland in Glasgow in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Sasa Kalajjic scored twice for Austria.
There was more to it than that: Austria’s national soccer team scored a point against Scotland at the start of the World Cup qualifiers in Glasgow. At 2: 2 (0: 0), Franco Foda’s team did not have time to lead twice.
Austria started the qualifiers behind Denmark (initially 2-0 winners in Israel). The bold look was the order of the day in front of the empty stands in Hampden Park, Glasgow. A minute later the Sasa College started immediately without losing a goal.
However, after this wake-up call, the Scots did not allow for more productive activity. The line-up (without the sick Marcel Sabitzer) scored several crosses from wingers Stephen Leiner and David Alaba. However, they were not effective and did little to counter the compact Scottish defense in the middle. Very static game soon developed.
Instead, the consistent Scots tried to do more over the course of the game. ÖFB made an impact by suppressing the defense: Alexander Schlager, who called for the goal, played Lyndon Dykes directly on the foot, but fixed his big mistake with a great defense (42.).
Compensation by overhead pull
Shortly before the break, Sasa had to undergo shoulder treatment for colitis. But after the resumption he continued the game, which had to close ten minutes later: the 23-year-old proved his nose for goal, with goalkeeper David Marshall only able to recover a shot from a grill shot. The 1-0 victory was the forerunner of some wild minute at Hampden Park: first, Stefan Ilsanker was lucky not to be penalized for his wrestling debut against Ryan Christie (56th) and then lost to Stuart Armstrong (57th). Sasa Kalajjik was already happy 2-0, but he made a mistake before the title. But later the gate was built by the Scots. Schlager did not come out of the gate with a long free kick. Grant Hanley used the space gratefully and closed his head equally (71.).
The new dynamic was introduced with 1: 1. Penalty area scenes increased. Stephen Liner brought a superb cross to Cologic with a strong head finish of 2: 1 (80th). But again the leadership did not last long. The defense forgot about John McGee, who fooled goalkeeper Schlager with an overhead kick (85th). Sasa Kalajjik said he was happy with my first goals for the national team. In the end we had to defend it in the best possible way.
Foda: “Lost Points”
Team boss Franco Foda said: “We gave up two points. If you take the lead twice, you have to keep the time. Both goals we did not defend well.
This will continue on Sunday, with the Faroe Islands being the next qualifying rivals in Vienna.
Match to read on live ticker:
World Cup qualification
Group A: Serbia 3-2 Ireland, Portugal 1-0 Azerbaijan
Group B: Sweden 1-0 Georgia, Spain 1-1 Greece
Group C: Bulgaria 1-3 Switzerland, Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
Group D: Finland 2-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina, France 1-1 Ukraine
Group E: Estonia 2-6 Czech Republic, Belgium 3-1 Wales
Group F: Scotland 2-2 Austria, Moldova 1-1 Faroe Islands, Israel 0-2 Denmark
Group G: Gibraltar 0-3 Norway, Turkey 4-2 Netherlands, Latvia 1-2 Montenegro
Group H: Slovenia 1-0 Croatia, Malta 1-3 Russia, Cyprus 0-0 Slovakia
Group I: Hungary – Poland 3: 3, Andorra – Albania 0: 1, England – San Marino 5: 0
Group J: Germany 3-0 Iceland, Romania 3-2 North Macedonia, Liechtenstein 0-1 Armenia
Travel fan. Freelance analyst. Proud problem solver. Infuriatingly humble zombie junkie.