More than 40 thousand fans at the end of the European Championship qualifiers

It could have been so beautiful. The group stage of the Women's European Championship qualifiers ends today (7 p.m., ORF Sport+) with the prestigious duel between Germany and Austria in Hanover. Over 40,000 fans have already secured their tickets and, if all goes according to plan, both teams will qualify. The Germans and… The Austrians can also celebrate their guaranteed participation in the European Championships against this magnificent backdrop. But: Team leader Erin Vohrmann's team made a mistake in Iceland just over a month ago and after the Icelanders recently beat Germany 3-0, it became clear: direct participation in the European Championship was no longer possible for the Austrians before today's match. The two places at the top were already firmly allocated to Germany and Iceland. “It didn't help. We have to get through the qualifiers. Our clear goal is the European Championship finals in Switzerland, and we will continue to invest everything in that,” says Styrian forward Barbara Dunst.

The fact that the ÖVB women are playing in front of the second-largest crowd in their history is still motivating despite the lack of direct qualification for the European Championship. Only in the opening match of Euro 2022 in Manchester were there more fans in the stadium. “We are offered a great stage where we want to present ourselves in the best possible way against a great opponent. If we can win even one point, it will be a great success for Austria,” says Formann.

The hosts want to maintain first place in the long-distance duel with Iceland, and with a win they will also gain the self-confidence needed for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. Austria will be watching there. But they want to take an active part again in 2025 at the European Championships in Switzerland. This will be Austria's third European Championship in a row. This can now only be secured through the qualifiers. As a seeded team, Austria will meet a team from League C in a two-legged match at the end of October as a team from League A. If they qualify, the red-white-red team will have to win again in the two-legged matches against a team from the second league at the end of November and beginning of December.

The duel against Germany today may not have much sporting value, but the prestigious success is worth its weight in gold for self-confidence.