Austria and Grillitsch close to World Cup exit

Tuesday 5th September

The Austria national team couldn’t take advantage of their chance to reach the play-off spot in Group D. Florian Grillitsch started and played for 80 minutes in Austria’s 1-1 draw with Georgia. Austria have a five point gap to Wales in the group and technically can still qualify for the World Cup but it looks unlikely.

Group I has a very tense end to World Cup qualification in store. In a closely fought battle, Turkey came out 1-0 winners against Croatia to close the gap to top of the group Croatia to two points. TSG’s Andrej Kramaric came on as a substitute in the 71st minute for Croatia but was unable to swing the game in their favour.

Germany U21 international Nadiem Amiri got their European Championship qualification off to a great start. The Germany U21s defeated Kosovo 1-0 to start their title defence with 3 points. Also, Gregor Kobel came on for the Switzerland U21 team in a 1-1 draw against Romania.

Monday 4th September

It was always going to be a difficult match for Havard Nordtveit and Norway on Monday evening. The 27-year-old TSG defender faced Germany in Stuttgart who so far have a flawless record in World Cup qualifying. The current World Cup holders gave Norway no chance as the game was over in 21 minutes following goals from Özil, Draxler and Werner. The game ended in a 6-0 win for Joachim Löw’s side. Unfortunately for Nordtveit, his 34th international appearance was a sad one as Norway’s fears of being unable to qualify for the 2018 World Cup were confirmed.

At the same time, Czech Republic faced Northern Ireland in Belfast. TSG’s Pavel Kaderabek did not feature as Northern Ireland continued to their good form with a 2-0 win which meant that Pavel and the Czech Republic will not be taking part in the 2018 World Cup.

Philipp Ochs and Robin Hack were disappointed in their U20 Elite League fixture as, despite a strong performance, a late equaliser dampened the mood. After Hack shot the U20s into a 2-0 lead, the Germany youth team threw away the lead away and shared the spoils with the Czech Republic.

Sunday 3rd September

When the World Cup qualifier between Croatia and Kosovo was abandoned on Saturday due to an unplayable pitch, many clubs were fearing the worst regarding an international fixture having to be rearranged during a calendar dominated by club competitions. However, Andrej Kramaric and Croatia didn’t have to wait long as FIFA scheduled the remaining 68 minutes to take place on Sunday afternoon.  Kramaric came on and played 35 minutes to help Croatia to a 1-0 win in Zagreb. Ante Cacic’s team lead Group I with Turkey, Ukraine and Iceland all not far behind.

Bosnia and Herzegovina eventually cantered to a 4-0 win in Gibraltar but it took Bosnia and Herzegovina a while to get going as Edin Dzeko eventually broke the deadlock shortly before half-time. Despite Bicakcic not featuring in the game, Bosnia and Herzegovina rose to second place in Group H and face group leaders Belgium in their next fixture.

The third international fixture involving TSG players saw Switzerland beat Latvia 3-0. Despite making his starting debut for Switzerland against Andorra in the last qualifier, Steven Zuber did not feature in the win. With eight wins out of eight, Switzerland lead Group B with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal closely behind after their 1-0 win against Hungary. 

Saturday 2nd September

The World Cup qualifier between Croatia and Kosovo, featuring Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric, was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch. A new date has not yet been set.

The second game which involved a Hoffenheim player did not have to come to an early end thanks to the weather. Florian Grillitsch, who didn’t come on, and his Austrian teammates faced off against Wales. Marcel Koller’s team put in a good performance, although it wasn’t enough as they lost to 1-0 in Cardiff.Friday 1st September

Four TSG men, Pavel Kaderabek, Havard Nordtveit, Gregor Kobel and Nadiem Amiri, played for their countries on Friday. For the Germany U21s and Nadiem Amiri, it was the first game after their European Championship success in the summer – a friendly against the Hungary U21s. It was almost an entirely new German team and the TSG youngster was given a place in the starting line-up. After a good opening period, Stefan Kuntz’s men lost their way and at half-time, Amiri and Co. were 2-0 behind. After 63 minutes, Amiri was substituted. His teammates got one back through a goal from Johannes Eggestein in the 66th minute but they could not grab an equaliser and had to settle for defeat at full-time. It gets serious on Tuesday though with the start of their 2019 European Championship qualification campaign against Kosovo. They kick off at 19:00 (CEST) in Osnabrück.

Gregor Kobel started for the Switzerland U21s yesterday in their European qualifier against Wales. The keeper had to pick the ball out of his net three times though as his side slumped to a 3-0 defeat. On Tuesday, the team can pick up their first points of the campaign against Romania.

Czech Republic and Pavel Kaderabek narrowly lost 2-1 to Germany in their World Cup qualifier. Germany took the lead just four minutes into the game through Timo Werner after a brilliant ball from Mesut Özil. In the 78th minute, Hertha’s Darida thundered the ball home from 25 yards off the crossbar to equalise. However, Mats Hummels headed Löw’s side to a 2-1 victory late on. Pavel Kaderabek did not come on off the bench.

The Czechs are on nine points in third position in Group C and just two points behind them lies TSG teammate Havard Nordtveit and his Norwegian side. Norway added three points to their tally with a 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan. Havard Nordtveit was solid for the whole 90 minutes in helping his team keep a clean sheet. On Monday, Norway face Germany in Stuttgart whilst Pavel Kaderabek and Czech Republic go to Northern Ireland.

Thursday 31st August

Three TSG players appeared for their national teams in World Cup qualification fixtures on Thursday. In Group B, TSG’s Adam Szalai played for Hungary against Latvia. Szalai started the game and scored in a 3-1 victory for Bernd Stock’s Hungary team who now have 10 points on the board in Group B. On Sunday, Hungary face Portugal in Budapest with the difference between second placed Portugal and Hungary in third currently at 8 points.

Steven Zuber was also able to celebrate picking up 3 points with his national side. Switzerland ran out 3-0 winners against Andorra to make it seven wins out of seven in Group B. Consequently, Switzerland top Group B with 21 points. Zuber started for the first time in a Switzerland shirt but was replaced at half time. Switzerland and Zuber will hope to carry on their impressive campaign against Latvia on Sunday.

Ermin Bicakcic was less successful in his qualification fixture with Bosnia. Despite leading 2-0, Bosnia lost 3-2 to Cyprus. If Bosnia had won, they would have leaped over Greece into second place in the group. The next chance to put their last performance right will be on Sunday in Gibraltar.

For Philipp Ochs and Robin Hack, it wasn’t about picking up points on Thursday night with the U20s. The DFB development squad faced Greuther Fürth in a friendly in which Fürth came out 3-2 winners.