Test matches
England draw – Austria’s Gregoritsch with a hat-trick
Lewis Dunk (l) from England in a running duel with the Belgian Romelu Lukaku. photo
© Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/dpa
A few weeks before the European Championships, Austria is in impressive form – thanks in part to a Bundesliga striker. A German EM opponent is also cheering. A top team equalizes late.
Thanks to a brilliant performance by Michael Gregoritsch Austria’s national team impressively continued its upward trend before the European Football Championship. Coach Ralf Rangnick’s team beat Turkey 6-1 (2-1) in a friendly.
Germany’s European Championship group opponent Switzerland is also in form after the 1-0 (1-0) draw in Ireland, while Scotland, another opponent of the DFB team, surprisingly lost 0-1 (0-1) in Northern Ireland. England secured a 2-2 (1-2) draw against the Belgians trained by Domenico Tedesco in the last minute.
The highlight of the evening was attacker Gregoritsch from SC Freiburg. With his hat-trick (44th/48th/59th minute/penalty), he practically single-handedly ensured Austria’s success. RB Leipzig’s Xaver Schlager had given Rangnick’s team the lead after just two minutes, his Leipzig teammate Christoph Baumgartner (78th/penalty) and Maximilian Entrup (90th+5) ensured the final score. Hakan Calhanoglu (25th/foul penalty) provided the interim equalizer.
Bellingham provides relief
The mood among the English is a little better than the Turks, and they managed to draw against Belgium late on. Youri Tielemans (11th/36th) scored both goals for Belgium in London. Ivan Toney (17th) initially scored for the hosts, ex-Dortmund Jew Bellingham (90th + 5) provided some relief late on at Wembley Stadium.
Thanks to the goal from ex-Munich player Xherdan Shaqiri (9th), the Swiss got into European Championship shape. Co-favorites Portugal, on the other hand, lost for the first time under national coach Roberto Martínez. The Portuguese lost 0-2 (0-0) in Slovenia. Adam Gnezda (72nd) and Timi Elsnik (80th) scored for the hosts.