Nations League: Lainer’s Austria land important win

The Austria national team finished strong to overcome Northern Ireland 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League, with Borussia right-back Stefan Lainer playing the full match.

Borussia’s right-back Stefan Lainer was in the starting XI as Austria defeated Northern Ireland on Sunday, winning 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League. For a long time at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, the hosts found it difficult to break down a defensive Northern Ireland side; despite Austria having the vast majority of possession, chances were at a premium in the first half. After the break the game continued in the same fashion right up until Josh Magennis’ opening goal put the Northern Irish ahead after 74 minutes. Austria then responded to turn the game completely on its head with a pair of late goals from Louis Schaub (81’) and Adrian Grbic (87’). While Lainer played the full 90 minutes, Valentino Lazaro left the squad prior to the match to return to Mönchengladbach as planned. Austria now lead League B, Group 1 with twelve points from five matches. Franco Foda’s side will seal promotion to League A with just a point in Wednesday’s match against Norway (20:45 CET).

Ramy Bensebaini will play in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare on Monday afternoon (14:00 CET), as his Algeria side continue their qualifying campaign for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations. After three group matches, Bensebaini and co. have a perfect record and lead Group H with nine points. Upcoming opponents Zimbabwe lie in second with four points so far.

Photo: imago images / GEPA pictures