ÖFB-U21 fights for a draw in Croatia

In their 100th match led by team manager Werner Gregoric, Austria’s U-21 national team beat Croatia 1-1 (0-0) on Monday in Pula. Substitute Christoph Lang equalized in the third minute of extra time against the Croatians, who also played players from their previous under-21 squad, including Austrian legionnaire Roko Simic and Marin Ljubicic. Scored the lead for hosts Rocco Goriskin (57).

“It was an educational game for us.”

Because of the draw for the test game, the UEFA youth selection remained unbeaten in the fourth game after the reorganization in September. “It was a learning game for us. You could see that the Croats had older players because they were more intelligent and mature in duels. But we can take a lot from games like this, we never gave up and in the end the equalizer didn’t just reward us for a good game.” , but for the entire week, Gregorych explained.

The head of the team, who has held his position since 2012, was pleased with the “beautiful memory”, which will be followed by many other games. “No matter if this is my first match or the legendary 100th, it is important for me to feel that the fire is still burning inside of me.” Last week they also played 1-1 against Turkey in Medulin. In the new year, Grigoric’s team will start qualifying for the 2025 Finals.