On June 26th, in the final round of Group D at the European Championship, Austria defeated the Netherlands 3-2, while France drew 1-1 with Poland. This result secured Austria’s first-place finish in the group, the first time they have topped a major tournament group since 1978.
Initially, Group D was seen as a battle between France and the Netherlands, but Austria demonstrated their dark horse qualities. After losing to France in the opening match, they went on to consecutively defeat Poland and the Netherlands, securing two wins and six points, making them the group leaders and surprising many.
The last time Austria finished atop their group in a major tournament was at the 1978 World Cup. There, they defeated Spain 2-1, Sweden 1-0, and lost to Brazil 0-1, finishing with a record of two wins and one loss, earning four points and topping their group due to a superior goal difference over Brazil.
In subsequent World Cup campaigns, Austria advanced as group runners-up in 1982 and exited in the group stage in 1990 and 1998. In their European Championship history, they were eliminated in the group stage in 2008 and 2016, and advanced as group runners-up in the 2020 edition.
