Poland 1-3 Austria: Euro 2024 – as it happened (2024)

Group D: Gernot Trauner, Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic got the goals as Austria took the points and all but ended Polish interest in the tournament. Ben Fisher reports from the Olympiastadion in Berlin …

Austria: Gernot Trauner, Christoph Baumgartner and Marco Arnautovic got the goals for Austria, but to a man Ralf Rangnick’s players were outstanding. They’re an excellent team and each and every one of their substitutes contributed to the cause as well. Here’s the group table, where three of the four teams have three points.

Austria take the three-points from a game that was must-win for both sides and Poland’s very slim chances of making the last 16 will be extinguyished if France beat the Netherlands later tonight.

It was terrific game of football, which Austria deserved to win. They’re a seriously good team and will provide no end of problems for any team in the knockout stages, shoud they make it that far.

90+3 min: Poland attack down the right and the cross is too high for Lewandowski. Grosicki gets a shot off but sends his effort wide. It’s all over in Berlin and Austria are deserved winners.

90+2 min: Austria attack down the left again and Konrad Laimer plays a weighted pass to the byline for Gregoritsch to chase. There’s too much welly on the ball, which rolls out of play despite the substitute’s best attempts to keep it in. Weirdly, it’s Austria who are playing like the team who are beind and in desperate need of two goals.

90 min: We’re deep into kitchen sink time for Poland but they’re not showing any sign of pulling a goal back. They’ll have four minutes of added time.

88 min: It’s another let-off for Poland. Schmidd plays Konrad Laimer through on goal and he takes the ball around Szczesney before rolling it towards the far corner from a tight angle. The ball takes what seems like an eternity to trundle the wrong side of the upright and roll wide. That was so close.

85 min: Szczesney saves superbly to prevent a Stefan Posch shot from distance from arrowing into the top corner. That’s wonderful goalkeeping from the Pole.

82 min: Austria double-substitution: Romano Schmid and Michael Gregoritsch have come on for Baumgartner and Arnautovic.

Poland substitution: Kamil Grosicki on for Bartosz Slisz.

80 min: It’s bad news for Scotland whose chances of getting out of their group with two points are going up in smoke. It’s far worse news for Poland, whose slim hopes of making the last 16 will be extinguished if they lose this game and France beat the Netherlands tonight.

Austria stretch their lead! Arnautovic sends Szczesney the wrong way, slotting the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.

Sabitzer is put clean through on goal and is brought down by Szczesny, who catches him on the ankle as he dives at his feet.

73 min: Oof! Austria go close to scoring a third as Szczesney saves well from Wimmer after good work by Baumgartner.

71 min: Some long overdue admin: Karlos Swiderski came on for Poland at the same time as Lewandowski, with strikers Buksa and Piatek making way.

69 min: That could be a massive goal for Austria and it was wonderfully taken by Baumgartner. Prass had the ball on the left flank and sent a low pass towards Arnautovic, who dummied so it ran through to Baumgartner. The RB Leipzig midfielder took a touch and slotted it past Szczesny into the corner.

Austria retake the lead! Baumgartner takes advantage of a fine Arnautovic dummy to run on to a through ball and slot it past Szczesny into the bottom right-hand corner from about 12 yards out.

65 min: A booking I didn’t get to tell you about earlier: Jakub Muder, for a foul on Baumgartner.

64 min: Austria drill the ball into the Poland box, where Arnautovic is unable to sort his feet out and get a shot on goal. There’s an impromptu and unedifying but entertaining League Two-esque goalmouth scramble and Poland manage to hack the ball clear.

63 min: Austria substitution: Alexander Prass on for Philipp Mwene.

61 min: Zewelinski wastes the free-kick, firing the ball straight into the defensive wall. Lewandowski relieves him of the captain’s armband and wraps it around his biceps.

58 min: Poland win a free-kick a few yards outside the Austria penalty area, well left of centre. There’s a break in play as Gernot Trauner can get treatment for an injury that forces him off. He’s replaced by Kevin Danso.

There’s also a Polish double-substitution: Robert Lewandowski and somebody else whose identity I will reveal as soon as I know it, come on.

56 min: The ref plays advantage after an Autrian foul, allowing Nicola Zalewski to gallop upfield for Poland. Patrick Wimmer gets back to foul him and is booked. Free-kick for the Poles, wide on the left. Zalewski sends the ball into the Austrian penalty area and it’s cleared.

53 min: Austria charge forward with Baumgartner on the ball, driving at the defence. He’s fouled by Bartosz Slisz, who gets booked for his trouble. Sabitzer wastes the free-kick, sending the ball sailing wide from about 35 yards. I don’t think he was trying to score, it was just a freakishly overhit delivery into the box. If anything, Clive, he’s struck it too well.

51 min: Patrick Wimmer wins a corner for Austria and takes it himself. His outswinger is met by Stefan Posch, who sends a powerful header straight into the gloves of Szczesny from about 12 yards out.

47 min: I’m a little puzzled by Austria’s decision to replace Florian Grillitsch, but on ITV co-comms, Andros Townsend points out that for all his quality, he did give the ball away quite a lot in the opening 45 minutes.

To hear far less astute punditry from a member of the Townsend family, you could tune in to see what Andros’s old man Troy had to say about England and other matters on last night’s Football Weekly Daily podcast.

46 min: Poland get the ball rolling in what is a must-win game for both teams. Each manager has made a change: Patrick |Wimmer is on for Austria, while Brighton’s Jakub Moder is on for Poland. Florian Grillitsch and Jakub Piotrowski make way.

An email: “Having previously been not all that interested, I’m now totally invested in this game after Sean McNulty’s pre-match email,” writes Simon McMahon. “Can both these teams just settle for a point now, please? We need a modern day Disgrace of Gijón.”

Half-time: A very entertaining 45 minutes draws to a close with the sides level. Austria roared out of the traps and threatened to overwhelm Poland after going ahead through Gernot Trauner’s excellent header. But having ridden their luck a little, the Poles finally got a foothold in the game and equalised through Kryzsztof Piatek’s composed finish. The game is very finely poised ahead of what could be a thrilling second half.

45+1 min: Stefan Posch catches Bartosz Slisz in the face with a trailing arm and the Polish midfielder goes down. He gets a free-kick and Piotr Zielinski bends the ball around the wall, forcing a good save out of Pentz. It’s half-time.

44 min: Florian Grillitsch, who has been very impressive in Austria’s midfield, tries to thread a ball between two defenders to put Sabitzer through on goal. His pass is intercepted.

42 min: Sabitzer drifts in from the left, picks up a pass and tries to pull a shot from distance inside the left upright. The ball whistles narrowly wide but I think Szczesny had it covered anyway.

40 min: Arnautovic takes a quick free-kick, playing the ball 30 yards upfield along the deck, trying to slip Konrad Laimer in behind. The striker’s delivery is a mite to heavy and the ball rolls out of play.

38 min: Austria break upfield with Baumgartner on the ball and options to his right and left. He chooses the latter, sliding in Marcel Sabitzer, who chops inside. His shot is blocked at close range by Szczesny, who’d rushed to the edge of his six-yard box.

35 min: Now then. Let’s see how Austria cope with that setback. They have a throw-in halfway inside the Poland half and Philipp Mwene cheekily steals about 10 yards before throwing the ball in the direction of Arnautovic.

32 min: I’m not entirely sure Poland deserve that equaliser, but they’ll certainly take it! It started with a deep cross towards the far post from Zielinski, which sparked a panic in the Austrian defence. One pull-back and a blocked Jan Bednarek shot later, the ball arrived at the feet of Piatek, who took his touch and slid the ball into the bottom corner.

Poland equalise! Kryzsztof Piatek shows great composure as the ball ricochets towards his feet after a teammate’s shot was blocked, taking a touch before placing it past Patrick Pentz in the Austria goal.

29 min: “Can’t imagine I’ll be the only Wales fan watching Poland and thinking ‘this could be us’,” writes Jonny Bull. “And that includes getting the absolute runaround here, especially on our current form.”

28 min: Piotr Zielinski tries another shot from outside the Austria penalty area but it cannons off the head of a defender.

26 min: Poland are being completely overrun in midfield and keep giving the ball away any time they do get possession. On their bench, Robert Lewandowski is deep in conversation with his manager and other members of the team’s coaching staff.