Italy struggles to bring Austria to its knees on the way to quarterfinals | European Football Championship

Marko Arnautovic’s dance with Francesco Acerbi behind his back

Ⓒ ANP/HH

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sport">It was exactly the guts it took, the Austrians thought, to have any chance of a stunt against the Azzurri. They seemed to be coming to an end.

sport">We know Arnautovic, who was just a wonderful point of contact for his team, all from the Dutch league, where he settled fifteen years ago to profile himself as a cheeky youngster in the striker via Jong FC Twente. It gave him a remarkable career after four seasons as an importer.

Special reputation

sport">Through Serie A (Inter), he landed in the German Bundesliga and the English Premier League, where he built a special reputation playing for Stoke City and West Ham United before actually making a fortune (€32 million in five seasons) in Shanghai, China.

sport">He did not play against the Netherlands, because he had already severely insulted an opponent of North Macedonia in the first game and UEFA punished him for that afterwards. His Serbian background came to a head when, after his first goal at this European Championship, he took it out on Gjanni Alioski (of Leeds United), who has Albanian roots. The striker quickly transferred €30,000 to charity and said he was not a racist.

sport">As weak as it was against the Netherlands, so entertaining and spicy it was now against the Italians. No one seemed impressed by the status of Serie A millionaires.

sport">Mancini didn’t seem too concerned about Austria beforehand. With no goals against, seven goals for and 25 of the 26 players already used, he had created a nice atmosphere in his selection. Against the Alpine country, he had again seven changes in his team compared to the previous game.

Fear of minor football disaster

sport">But it all did not contribute to a smooth whole in the first knockout round. After 65 minutes, the whole of Italy shuddered when Arnautovic headed the ball over goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (four times word value in Italian scrabble) on a pass from Austria’s most dangerous man David Alaba. The VAR saved Bonucci and his men. The audience at Wembley did not see reruns on the big screens and already thought of a minor football disaster. But Arnautovic indeed turned out to be a few centimeters offside.

sport">Mancini feared that all his fine work would be ruined by the number 23 of the FIFA ranking list. Not that the Italians look down on Austrian football, but it can’t be in the shadow of the class that Serie A has radiated for decades. That class was reflected in extra time.

sport">Chiesa appeared completely detached in the enemy penalty area after a deep place. There he remained icy calm before putting the ball into the long corner. With a similar shot, but from the other side, Pessina decided the game ten minutes later.

sport">Despite the double blow, Austria did not give in. After Donnarumma had already made a nice save, Kalajdzic made it exciting with a good header. It was the first goal for the Italians in more than 1160 minutes. But it was not enough for the Austrians to force penalties.

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