In the end there was to be no "miracle" of Vienna for the Austrian national side, whose early exit from the Euro 2008 championships they co-hosted with the Swiss the media lamented on Tuesday. A 1-0 final Group B loss to Germany left the Austrians joint bottom of the group with Poland, against whom they managed their solitary point and goal.
And even if they gave the Germans, and the Croatians, a closer game than some had forecast the media were still upset at the worst showing by a host nation to date. "A combat of heroes - but no miracle," headlined the tabloid Krone Zeitung. Kurier daily acknowledged it was "Game over", a headline printed above the dejected faces of skipper Andreas Ivanschitz and striker Roman Kienast following the final whistle on Monday night when Michael Ballack's goal proved enough.
"Ballack's strike went right through our hearts," Kurier added of the Germany skipper's freekick. The same paper complained that the Austrians had been tactically naive and too defensive against Croatia and also noted that Ivanschitz was an "untouchable starter when he did not seem to be at the height of his capabilities" for the event.
Die Presse noted "a lack of attacking aggressivity" and insisted that "Austria was strong enough to pull off a sensation against Germany" but had not pulled it off and ultimately suffered "the worst result of an organising country" with their one point and one goal. Belgium managed three points in 2000 and the Swiss also garnered three this time. Much had been talked about beforehand as to whether the Austrians would manage to repeat their exploits of the 1978 World Cup when they beat the Germans in Cordoba, Argentina.
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