Match report as Austria battle past North Macedonia to secure a 3-1 victory in the opening game in group C in Bucharest; In group's other game, Netherlands see off late Ukraine fight back to secure thrilling 3-2 win
Sunday 13 June 2021 22:00, UK
Austria opened their Euro 2020 campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over North Macedonia in Bucharest.
Franco Foda's side were sent on their way by a brilliant finish from Stefan Lainer (18), who volleyed home Marcel Sabitzer's superb cross.
However, a comedy of errors in the Austrian defence allowed North Macedonia, who were playing in their first match at a major tournament, back in before the break. Veteran striker Goran Pandev (28) capitalised on the mix-up and produced a historic moment to bring his side level.
After the break, North Macedonia had their moments as Daniel Bachmann denied Boban Nikolov, but they eventually began to tire, and substitute Michael Gregoritsch (78) converted David Alaba's cross to break North Macedonian hearts before former West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic (89) - another substitute - struck late on to round off proceedings.
Victory sees Austria lead Group C on goal difference after Netherlands saw off a late Ukraine fight back to secure thrilling 3-2 victory on Sunday evening.
It was a huge occasion for North Macedonia, who were playing in their first game at a major tournament and it felt like a home game for them in Bucharest as choruses of boos rang out to greet early Austria possession.
However, those fans were quietened down in the 18th minute when Lainer produced a moment of magic to put Austria ahead. He was picked out at the far post by Sabitzer's cross-field pass and his acrobatic volley beat goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski from a tight angle.
The lead didn't last long, though, as Pandev pounced on a comedy of errors in the Austria defence.
Martin Hinteregger's clearance hit Sabitzer and the ball rebounded towards Aleksandar Trajkovski. Daniel Bachmann raced out to win the ball, but he also made a complete mess of the save and the ball fell kindly for Pandev, who had a simple finish to net North Macedonia's first goal in a major tournament.
Just before the hour mark, Austria brought on Gregoritsch and Arnautovic to replace Felix Baumgartner and Sasa Kalajdzic, and Gregoritsch almost made an instant impact, but his deft header was superbly palmed away by Dimitrievski.
North Macedonia began to tire but they did create an opening as Nikolo forced Bachmann into a smart block. In the end, though, it was not to be for the tournament's lowest-ranked team.
Gregoritsch prodded home David Alaba's cross in the 78th minute before Arnautovic struck in the 89th as Austria earned a first win at the Euros at their seventh attempt and their first victory at a major tournament since the 1990 World Cup.
Austria boss Franco Foda: "We deservedly won and congratulations to the lads, they wrote history today.
"Overall I'm very satisfied, we started well and deservedly scored the opener. We could have scored a second, but then we didn't focus in one moment and conceded the equaliser. In the second half we talked about two or three things, to play faster and more on the wings. We were more agile and the substitutes showed their effect.
"The substitutes were important, which is why you have players on the bench. A team consists of 26 players. With Marko, in preparation he was injured, didn't train that much and that's why I decided to bring him on later.
"This last week he trained with us more, but I don't know if we want to start him or play him for 60 or 70 minutes (in the next game against Holland). The players see it in a different way, but Marko is a key player in our team."
North Macedonia boss Igor Angelovski: "I can't not be proud of my players who qualified. We functioned well, there were moments where we had possession and control of the situation," said
"The key was the second goal from Austria, but there is no room for disappointment. We have to improve ourselves in order not to repeat the mistakes we have done. The aim was to provide chances for Goran in attack and we knew we played against a national team who run a lot.
"I'm speechless about the atmosphere our supporters created. I hope we can reward them with a good result in the next match. We've two matches to go and will start to prepare ourselves for the next game against Ukraine."
It wasn't the easiest of nights for Austria as they were forced to work extremely hard to seal their first Euros victory against North Macedonia.
Alaba will certainly have easier games, but the Austria captain was always looking for the ball and got his side moving as they eventually broke down a tiring North Macedonia.
It was his inch-prefect cross that set up Gregoritsch for Austria's second which proved crucial in securing all three points.
Both teams are back in action on Thursday with North Macedonia facing Ukraine in Bucharest (kick-off 2pm) and Austria playing Netherlands in Amsterdam (kick-off 8pm).
