Austria cruise pass Poland to eye knock-out rounds
Austria claimed a convincing 3-1 win over Poland in Berlin on Friday to take a step towards the Euro 2024 knock-out rounds. Robert Lewandowski returned from a thigh injury as a substitute for Poland, now on the brink of elimination from Group D after two defeats, but could not help his team make inroads against Ralf Rangnick's sturdy side. Poland striker Krzysztof Piatek levelled Gernot Trauner's opener, but Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic's second-half goals earned Austria three vital points. Austria dominated the opening stages and Trauner powered home a header at the near post from the enterprising Phillipp Mwene's cross. Piatek levelled for Poland after half an hour, staying calm in the box when a rebound fell his way and slotting into the bottom corner. With the game level approaching the hour mark, Poland coach Michal Probierz sent on Lewandowski, who took the captain's armband. Showing little concern about his injury, the forward charged around and quickly picked up a booking for catching Philipp Lienhart with his arm. Austria regained the lead after 67 minutes when Arnautovic cleverly stepped over a pass received by Baumgartner, who stroked into the bottom corner. Baumgartner celebrated wildly with Rangnick and gave the former interim Manchester United coach credit. "He supports me every day and gave me a lot of strength at half-time," explained the midfielder. "He talked to me for three or four minutes, so the thanks went to him too." Veteran captain Arnautovic, 35, sealed the win with a late penalty after Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny felled Marcel Sabitzer. (Reuters)