Last-gasp equaliser sends Seiwald, Schlager and Austria through | OneFootball

There was late drama in Kansas City as Austria, with RB Leipzig duo Nicolas Seiwald and Xaver Schlager in their ranks, booked their place in the knockout stage of the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico with a last-gasp equaliser. 

They now face perhaps their toughest challenge of the tournament so far. European champions Spain and former RBL attacker Dani Olmo await in the round of 32.

Schlager looks to hit the front

Xaver Schlager had Austria’s first opportunity early on. The RBL midfielder tried his luck from just over 20 yards in the eighth minute but leaned back slightly and sent his effort over the bar.

Austria took the lead just over 20 minutes later after two former Bundesliga players combined. Ex-Bayern defender David Alaba took the entire Algeria defence out of the game with a long ball over the top, picking out former Werder Bremen striker Marko Arnautović, who calmly slotted home to make it 1-0.

Seiwald comes close to Austria's second

Algeria grew stronger as the half wore on. Eintracht Frankfurt’s Farès Chaïbi struck the post in the 40th minute, before Rafik Belghali went one better five minutes later. After the ball had been kept in play by the corner flag, the right-back dribbled into the box, beat three Austria players and rifled the ball inside the near post to make it 1-1.

Nicolas Seiwald almost restored Austria’s lead in first-half stoppage time. Our number 13 was left free in the Algeria box following a corner, but his shot was blocked by a defender.

Former RBL duo restore Austria’s lead

Two former RBL players combined to put Austria back in front early in the second half. Konrad Laimer broke clear down the right and found Marcel Sabitzer in the middle, who met the ball sweetly on the edge of the box and found the bottom-right corner to make it 2-1.

The lead did not last long, however. Riyad Mahrez showed his quality on the hour mark, with the former Manchester City winger finding space inside the box and scoring Algeria’s second equaliser of the game.

Stoppage-time drama

Little happened for much of the remainder of the game. Both teams appeared content with a draw, which would have sent them both through. However, Mahrez struck almost out of nowhere in the third minute of stoppage time to put Algeria 3-2 ahead and leave Austria heading out.

With only a minute remaining, Austria poured forward and somehow found a way back. Saša Kalajdžić headed home a equaliser for 3-3 with the final touch of the game to send his country into the knockout stage.

Olmo awaits in the round of 32

Austria now face a formidable test in the knockout stage against unbeaten European champions Spain. Dani Olmo could also feature, having provided an assist for one of Spain’s five goals at the tournament so far.

Aside from a goalless draw against Cabo Verde, La Roja have yet to put a foot wrong. Their defence, which has not conceded a single goal, is likely to present Austria with a particularly tough challenge. The round-of-32 tie between Spain and Austria takes place in Los Angeles next Thursday at 21:00 CEST.

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