Qualification looks like a long shot as this group has gone according to seedings. Austria has lost to the Czechs and Dutch, while defeating Moldova and Belarus. Their best hope is to catch the Dutch preparing for the Czechs and win in the Netherlands, and then beating the Czechs on the final day - 11 October. Current group standings: Czech Republic 4 3 1 0 9 1 10 Netherlands.... 4 3 1 0 9 2 10 Austria.......... 4 2 0 2 4 7 6 Belarus.......... 4 1 0 3 2 8 3 Moldova......... 4 0 0 4 2 8 0
Yeah, it's looking tough. Do any of the third-place teams advance? It's difficult to see Austria passing any of the top two. Oh well, at least they'll qualify for 2008... I don't want to take this off topic, but glad to see we've got a moderator in this forum. Thanks, IASocFan.
I think that third place is not a bad result considering the recent past of the Austrian National Team. It is a rebuilding process and Austria is going in the right direction. They will qualify for Euro 2004, and WCQ 2006 should be an interesting affair.
You know, I like your attitude, but did you really mean to say "they will qualify for Euro 2004"? Because I don't really see any chance of that.
Nope I ment to say 2008. The recent success of the U-17 and U-19 teams qualfying for UEFA championships were big steps. If the youth programs are good, the players will come. The youth teams for the US have been good for a while, it has taken a few years, but the full national team has come around. By 2008, Austria should be good.
Yeah, neither do I. Just by reading one thread on the sport1.at boards, one gets the feeling the world is about to end...haha. The Austrian public is very pessimistic about their footie at the moment.
I get the impression that things have never been the same here since the double whammy a few years ago against Spain (9-0) and Israel (5-0). The Austrians used to consider themselves a decent footballing nation, but that really shook them up. Maybe Schwarzenegger can comment in more detail on the Austrian footballing pysche if he shows up in this thread.
I think a third place finish in Euro qualifying would help. True Moldovia and Belerus are not soccer powers, but it is a start. The U-17 and u-19 teams have done well this year. There seems to be some pretty good young Austrian talent. Just give it a little time. How good was the team that qualified for WC98 in France? Was that group of players successful elsewhere? Or did the qualfication involve lots of luck?
No, the 98 team had some great players: Andi Herzog (played with Bremen at the time), Toni Polster (Cologne), GKs Michael Konsel (I think Roma at the time) and Franz Wohlfahrt (Stuttgart). There were also a number of (at that time) current or former Rapid players with Champions League experience, like Peter Stöger, Didi Kühbauer, Peter Schöttel. Also Ivica Vastic. It was a good team, but once that generation retired from international football, the next generation wasn’t yet up to the task, so they’ve had some growing pains since then. Matter of fact, the 98 team finished first in a qualifying group in which Sweden was favored. Austria had eight victories out of ten games. But that was a team with a lot of international experience.
Thanks. I had thought they were an experienced team, but could not remember. Let the youth grow and develop, and it will be amazing what will happen. Look at it this way, any success should be appreciated by Austria.
Yeah, but the Austrian public is very fickle, like the Germans: if the team is playing well, all of a sudden everyone is a fan. But if the team is playing poorly, everyone pretends like they were never a fan to begin with.