Austria and Poland, both facing elimination, battled for every second of their ninety-minute match, with Austria tying the match on a penalty kick with only a few seconds left in stoppage time. Thus neither team will be eliminated, and each will have a chance to beat a winning team to advance.
Both teams were primed to play, thinking their future hung on the outcome. Austria owned the first twenty minutes, Poland the rest of the match—until the final few seconds.
Austria came out firing, but couldn't convert on several excellent opportunities.
Austria got an early chance on a free kick, which Polish keeper Artur Boruc handled.
Then a moment later, Austrian midfielder Martin Harnik got a breakaway and just missed the right corner.
A few seconds after that Harnik got another brilliant opportunity, and Boruc robbed him again.
Not a minute later, Austrian midfielder Christian Lietgeb got a breakaway; Boruc charged almost to the penalty area line and took away his shot.
Through the first twenty-five minutes Poland seemed unable to sustain and attack; only Boruc's brilliant goalkeeping kept Poland in the match.
Suddenly, at the 29-minute mark, Poland exploded. After driving down the left side, Poland played the ball cross-pitch for a long shot from the right sideline.
Euro 2008 Soccer
The ball was blocked toward the right corner where Polish forward Marek Saganowski played it across the crease. The ball deflected off the hand of the Austrian keeper Jürgen Macho and right in front of Roger Guerriero who tapped it home.
Austria continued to press, but their focus on offense left a few dangerous openings for the Polish attackers. During the final ten minutes of the half, Austria seemed to slow a bit, and Poland started dominating the pitch.
In the last minute of the half, Austria got a free kick, but could not convert.
Finally, in extra time, Austria got yet another free kick, but missed the top right corner by inches.
At the half, Poland had the edge, 1–0.
Poland Keeps the Pressure on
Poland maintained dominance in the second half. Poland was unable to score but kept most opf the action in the Austrian end. Austria made a few drives, but most were individual efforts; Austria seemed unable to set up and play ball-control, waiting for a good shot. At the same time, their personal efforts simply weren't as impassioned or effective as the several missed chances in the opening minutes.
With 63 minutes played, Austria brought on some new players, including 38-year-old Ivica Vastic, a veteran of UEFA match play since 1998.
At 75 minutes Austria had a good free kick opportunity from ten yards beyond the penalty box. Vastic took the kick but drove it well over the net.
A corner kick at 78 minutes offered Austria another excellent chance. Vastic took that kick as well but missed the mark, as Poland cleared the ball.
Austria's defense tightened up a bit in the latter portion of the second half. Down only a goal, Austria couldn't be counted out.
Austrian defender Sebastian Prödl had a near miss with a header off a corner kick at 83 minutes, but missed the net.
With only seconds left in stoppage time, Austria got a free kick. The players wouldn't stop jostling one another, so the referee called for the kick to be taken over.
Then because the Polish team wouldn't stop pushing, the referee awarded Austria a penalty kick.
Vastic, the oldest player in Euro 2008 play, stepped in a blasted a shot past the heretofore impenetrable Boruc. Boruc dove left, Vastic drove the ball the other way, and Austria got the tie.
Austria after missing so many chances, and Vastic who himself missed a few chances, earned the tie, and will face Germany on Monday.
 Roger Guerreiro of Poland scores the opening goal while Martin Stranzl of Austria can do nothing during the UEFA EURO 2008 Group B match between Austria and Poland at Ernst Happel Stadion on June 12, 2008 in Vienna, Austria. (Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)
|
 Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc (R) tracks a shot by Austrian midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz (L) during the Austria-Poland Euro 2008 Championship match. (Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images)
|
Feeds