Two late goals gave Austria a hard-fought victory that boosted their hopes of reaching the last 16 of Euro 2024, but Poland became the first nation to be eliminated.
This result, followed by France’s draw against the Netherlands later on Friday, means Poland will finish last in Group D even if they win their final match.
After Austria and Poland lost their opening matches, they both arrived in Berlin knowing that another defeat could mean the end of their tournament.
The high stakes gave the encounter the feel of a knockout match, with both sets of fans creating a raucous atmosphere at the Olympiastadion, matched by a frenetic pace on the pitch.
It was Austria who struck first, when Gernot Trauner rose at the near post to head home a cross from Phillipp Mwene.
Poland then struggled to get out of their own half, but quickly improved and began to press for an equalizer.
The ball arrived after 30 minutes, when a cross from the right was not properly cleared, and although Jan Bednarek’s shot was blocked, Krzysztof Piatek was first to react to fire low into the net .
After that, clear chances were few and far between, even when talismanic Polish striker Robert Lewandowski came off the bench late on, but as the match moved into the final stages it was Austria who found the inspiration they had need.
Marko Arnautovic’s dummy allowed time and space for Christoph Baumgartner to advance to the edge of the area, before calmly passing Wojciech Szczesny.
Austria’s victory was sealed a few minutes later. As Poland moved forward in search of an equalizer, Marcel Sabitzer escaped and although he was brought down by Szczesny, Arnautovic converted the resulting penalty.
