It wasn’t until the second half that I had that ÖFB team his “true colors shown,” said Team boss Hermann Stadler after the bitter 0:1 against Portugal. In the first half they “played too passively”. “The opponent was better, you have to be honest about that.”
“Today the disappointment outweighs the disappointment,” admitted the coach. But overall he can look back on an enjoyable five weeks in Qatar. “Everyone really got involved. We were a homogeneous group and had an extreme team spirit.” If someone had told him in advance that Austria would… U17 World Cup final land that he “took it with a kiss on the hand”. “Unfortunately the trip doesn’t have a happy ending, but we can fly back to Vienna with our heads held high.”
Goalkeeper Daniel Poschwho scored his first tournament goal in the final (“I was hoping for offside”), was still struggling with the result shortly after the game: “We gave it our all. We really wanted it,” said the Styrian. But Portugal was a “brutal team” and was simply better. “It’s not for nothing that they are European champions, now world champions.” In the second half, Austria was “closer”. “It hurts,” the goalkeeper repeated several times.
Captain Jakob Pokorny was “relatively sad” at the beginning. “But when I think about it, I’m extremely proud of this team!” He explained: “Two years ago it looked completely different. Now we have grown together as a team. Of course we would have liked to win the game. But we can also be very happy with second place.”
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen expressed his congratulations for the teenagers: “Austria in the World Cup final – it only came true thanks to your dream performance, dear U17 team. I’m looking forward to welcoming you to the Hofburg soon. All of Austria is proud of you. 1-0, my God, sometimes it ends like that, but you were great throughout the whole World Cup.”
Sports State Secretary Michaela Schmidt was live in Doha. “Even though we all wished for a different result, I would still like to say to the team: All of Austria is proud of you, and you can be too! It’s great that you’ve come this far, it’s unforgettable that an Austrian team is in a World Cup final. Cohesion, fighting spirit and hard work have brought you a hell of a long way.”