After the premiere in 2016, the second participation will follow in 2023: Austria’s U19 soccer players have again bought the ticket for the European Championship finals. The ÖFB selection beat Italy 2-1 in the last game of qualifying group A6 on Tuesday and secured first place ahead of the host of the mini-tournament without losing any points. Previously there had been a 2-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina and 6-0 against Greece. The European Championship will take place in Belgium (July 18th to 30th).
“It’s incredible. That feeling after the final whistle is hard to describe. We’ve worked hard for this moment. We were well prepared and deserved to win against Italy in the end,” summarized ÖFB team boss Hannes Spilka. At the Stadio Silvio Piola in Vercelli, Italy, 17-year-old Nicole Ojukwu (54′) scored from a free-kick and her 18-year-old Vienna colleague Isabel Aistleitner (79′) with a remarkable lob. Italy’s goal by Elisa Pfattner (87th) changed nothing.
“We put in an outstanding performance throughout qualifying, beating top nations. That makes me overjoyed and proud,” emphasized Spilka. The European Championship draw will take place on April 26 (10:00 a.m.) in Tubize. The ÖFB squad is eagerly awaiting the opponents. “We are still hungry for success and want to score points at the European Championships as well,” Spilka is not satisfied with taking part in the European Championships.