“We started well,” said Franco Foda, when everything had actually come to an end. The ORF microphone, into which he spoke in Cardiff, has long been a good acquaintance of the Austrian team boss – for four and a half years Foda has had to deal with the fact that he has to defend his work again and again against a very critical Austria, which has just won its golden football Generation sees the high demands fail.
One of these claims would have been participation in a World Cup, but skiers need not worry next winter: There will be no competition from football, Austria will not go to the World Cup in Qatar after the 2-1 loss to Wales.
Perhaps Franco Foda will soon no longer have to appear on the ORF microphone. He never seemed too comfortable with the role of explainer of his own work anyway, so now he was standing in Cardiff and once again – or once again – spoke things that were already known. They had “a lot planned”, wanted “absolutely” to go to the World Cup, the training gave him a “good feeling”. In the beginning they did well, a 1-0 lead “would have been good”, in the end Wales “defended with flying colors”. Once again, there were excuses that will probably not be enough to secure the job of the team boss.
To the surprise of some Austrians, a passable free-kick taker: Gareth Bale.
(Photo: Matthew Childs/Action Images via Reuters)
But of course, Austria could have taken the lead through Christoph Baumgartner in the 5th minute, could have made something of their chances, had had the skills again to win this game, which David Alaba also recognized, saying that ” we might have deserved it somewhere”. The crucial vocabulary, however, was ‘maybe’, ‘also’ and ‘somewhere’, but certainly not on a March evening in Cardiff when it matters. It was Alaba’s words that for a long time have best described what the golden generation lacked, regardless of the coach: a clear commitment that a team with such high quality could not play a World Cup qualifier against Wales maybe somewherebut completely sovereign must be able to win – and that maybe you’re just a very dull, shimmering golden generation if that’s not the case.
Foda’s team haven’t won a game against a team that is ahead of Austria in the world rankings for a very long time
Not only did the Austrians not take advantage of the few chances they had in the game, they also invited Wales into the game. Baumgartner fouled his own penalty area in the 25th minute, as if no one had told him before the game that Gareth Bale, one of the best free-kick takers in the world, was playing on the other side. A short self-research on Youtube would probably have been enough. Anyway, Bale took the opportunity and made it 1-0 with a perfect direct shot, after which Wales held the trumps. Another good one-off from Bale was enough to make it 2-0 in the 51st minute, but numerous counter-chances could have resulted in a higher score.
Instead, the Austrians scored a follow-up goal, which is almost metaphorical for the curious detour of the Nations League group victory last year, which Foda’s team had taken in order to still be in the race for the World Cup: Marcel Sabitzer’s harmless shot so deflected that he made an arc over goalkeeper Wayne Hanessey and fell into the goal to make it 2-1 (64th). After that, Austria was no longer able to exert real, lasting pressure, and Wales deservedly won in the end.
In the past four and a half years, Foda has not won a single competitive game against a team that is ahead of Austria in the world rankings. It’s a catastrophic record, embellished by a few courageous performances like against Italy at the European Championship last year. Coupled with the tactical lateral or backward movement, it is a balance sheet that actually allows the conclusion to let Foda’s contract expire and start over. ÖFB sports director Peter Schöttel wants “to have talks with everyone involved in the next few days” and “question everything”, he himself has long been questioned in the media.
Association President Gerhard Millitich – responsible for an association that has also developed backwards rather than sideways in parallel with the senior team in recent years – meanwhile emphasized that Foda “of course” will sit on the coaching bench next Tuesday. So the team boss will probably still be able to see the game against Scotland, once again in the Ernst Happel Stadium, after all, where the atmosphere had recently cooled off considerably compared to Foda. Millitich announced a decision on further personnel planning for April. And then at the latest it will be important for Austria’s national team to start somewhere really well again.