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The opening ceremony for the European Football Championship caused a spectacle, the opening game resulted in a tough 1:0
Photo: Martin Rickett / dpa
A bit of Wembley at Old Trafford:
often the first goal of a major tournament burns a little deeper into the hearts and memories of fans than the goals that follow.
At least when it's nice to look at.
What Beth Mead managed in the 16th minute undoubtedly fell into this category: the skilful ball transfer with her upper body, the elegant chip over Austria's goalkeeper (and Arsenal team-mate) Manuela Zinsberger - a goal for connoisseurs.
Or?
Carina Wenninger seemed to scrape the ball off the line, the English cheering stopped for a second.
But unlike the infamous Wembley goal of 1966, the 2022 Old Trafford goal had crossed the line in full, goal-line technique and VAR giving the English leaders a unanimous nod.
The result:
England beat Austria 1-0 (1-0) in the opening game of the 2022 European Football Championship.
The Lionesses did not start brilliantly, but confidently in the home European Championship.
Here is the match report.
Habemus Tamtam:
68,800 fans in Manchester, you could really let it rip.
And how: In addition to the dance choreography with EM flags and the unfurling of the pink, blue, orange and purple group banners, the opening ceremony didn't skimp on colorful flames shooting into the sky at the sidelines.
The white smoke made the players' run-in a nebulous affair, but by the time kick-off at Old Trafford it had cleared up again.
The first half: For
fifteen minutes, the Austrians, who were peppered with numerous Bundesliga legionnaires, managed to unnerve the co-favourites.
High pressing, quick passes to the top and even more possession than the English – who was playing for the title here, who was playing for the outsider's chance of reaching the quarter-finals?
Mead's leadership then quickly reversed the balance of power, the English women proved to be more secure on the ball and thought faster.
Ellen White with a diving header (26') and Lauren Hemp, who failed at Zinsberger (45'), had chances to score more goals.
Without words:
In the ARD half-time analysis, presenter Claus Lufen and expert Nia Künzer planned to bring the most beautiful moves of the English women closer to the inclined audience.
It's just annoying that this attempt was torpedoed by a minute-long audio failure.
So you could let Mead's lob and Fran Kirby's pass, which is similarly worth seeing, have an effect on you again, just without comment.
The second half:
After the break, what had been hinted at half an hour before continued: The Englishwomen were not in the mood for hooray football, the Austrians lacked the playful means to take on striker Nicole Billa - after all, the Bundesliga top scorer for the 2020/2021 season – to set the scene in the penalty area.
The game rippled towards the final whistle with a resting pulse.
Only Barbara Dunst's flick, which Mary Earps defused with a flying insert, caused danger (78').
Only one series lasts:
For the Austrians, the 0-1 meant the first defeat in regular time at a European Championship.
This was not least due to the fact that the Alpine Republic was at the last European Championship in 2017 for the first time (only to fail in the semifinals on penalties to Denmark).
The English, on the other hand, remained unbeaten in their 15th game under coach Sarina Wiegman, with 13 wins and two draws they have a goal difference of 85:3.
Numbers that speak more for a favorite status than the offensive yield against the Austrians.
The next contenders:
The English advancement, however, should be almost certain: On Thursday evening, the other group members Norway and Northern Ireland will intervene, the Norwegians should scramble with Austria for second place in group A, the Northern Ireland as world number 47.
(between Uzbekistan and Myanmar) want to limit the number of defeats.
The German gaze is already on Group B: Spain (6 p.m., against Finland) and the DFB selection (9 p.m., TV: ZDF, against Denmark) start the tournament there on Friday.
