By Philip O’Connor
BERLIN (Reuters) – Austria’s historic 3-2 win over Netherlands to top Group D at Euro 2024 on Tuesday will go down as one of the greatest moments in the country’s sporting history, especially considering the unlikely source of their triumph – Marcel Sabitzer’s left foot.
The 30-year-old is well known for his thunderous strikes from distance with his right boot, but Tuesday’s winner – rattled into the roof of the net from a tight angle – came from his less-heralded left to secure a famous victory.
“I got the ball deep, I looked up to see if someone was free in the middle, but I got the impression that they (the Dutch) had more men there. In the past, the left foot has often helped me, so I thought that was the moment I could give it a try,” Sabitzer told reporters.
“As soon as the ball left my foot, I knew it could be good.”
The midfielder, who received the man of the match award for his performance, shared the credit with his team mates after a game in which the Dutch pegged them back to 1-1 and 2-2 before he got the winner.
“We are all footballers who want to win games, and that is our objective in every game. And if you have moments where things are a bit more difficult and it goes back and forth, then the question is how does the team react to that,” he said.
“You can be proud of the unity we have, the mentality we have on the pitch … we used our strengths, the goal was very nicely worked. So many Austrians who watch us in the stadium trust us, and we want to give them something back.”
Austria will find out their last-16 opponent when the final round of group games is completed on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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