The first international matches this year bring a real test character for Austria’s team boss Irene Fuhrmann. At the tournament in Malta, six regular players from the ÖFB women’s team, including Viktoria Schnaderbeck, the captain and Manuela Zinsberger, the undisputed number one goalie, are eliminated. At the start on Friday (3 p.m., live on ORF Sport +) against the favored Swedes, there will be an international debut in goal.
“We want to set new impulses”
You can choose from Vanessa Gritzner, Kristin Krammer and Jasmin Pal, none of whom have played an international match. In other positions, too, some players will have the chance to impose further tasks. “We want to give new impetus, and the squad situation gives us the opportunity to use players who have not had a lot of international experience so far. We want to see how they deal with the pressure in the competition, ”explained Fuhrmann.
Sweden becomes a real yardstick here. The World Cup third and Olympic runner-up has to do without a Chelsea trio, which, like Zinsberger (Arsenal), is not there due to travel restrictions relating to England, but can easily compensate for the failures. Caroline Seger from St. Pölten’s Champions League opponent FC Rosengard has completed more international matches (209) than the Austrian women’s national team in its history (187).
“The Swedes are a very confident and experienced team that hardly makes any mistakes in the passing game. It is important to constantly put pressure on the ball and to be a nuisance in order to create problems for them, ”said Fuhrmann before the second duel with the Scandinavians. The first was lost on April 9, 2019 in Südstadt with 0-2.
Excited look to Finland
After the game, the Austrians will be looking forward to Finland. Because if the Finns win the home game against Portugal (5.15 p.m.) in the European Championship qualification, the Austrians are practically fixed at the European Championship finals in England in 2022. Because Portugal would then have to score 14 goals against Scotland on February 23.
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