Michael Gregoritsch scores first international goal

FCA’s Michael Gregoritsch was able to build confidence for the final sprint in the Bundesliga during the international break. The 23-year-old scored his first goal in an Austria shirt in the team’s 4-0 win over Luxembourg.

Luxembourg 0–4 Austria

The Austria XI laid down an immediate marker when Marko Arnautović found the back of the net in the fourth minute. Florian Grillitsch also scored in the first half, netting Austria’s second goal in the 39th minute. FCA man Michael Gregoritsch extended the lead in the 59th minute, before Louis Schaub scored the final goal shortly before the end of the game in the 86th minute. Gregoritsch came off after his goal in the 75th minute, while Martin Hinteregger remained on the bench.

Poland 3–2 South Korea

South Korea weren’t rewarded by their late comeback and suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Poland. Poland went into a 2-0 lead before the break, with goals coming from Robert Lewandowski (32’) and Kamil Grosicki (45’). However, Chang-Min Lee (85’) and Hee-Chang Hwan (87’) had other ideas and Hee-Chang Hwan’s goal equalised the match for the South Koreans. Adding to the last-minute drama, Piotr Zieliński scored a winner for the hosts in injury time. Ja-Cheol Koo was on the bench, like in Northern Ireland, after only recently recovering from a cold.

Switzerland 6–0 Panama

FCA goalkeeper Marwin Hitz returned from international duty back to Augsburg due to thigh problems before the match. However, his Switzerland teammates had no problems beating Panama, who have qualified for the World Cup, without his help. The match ended 6-0 after goals from Blerim Džemaili (23’), Granit Xhaka (31’ pen.), Breel Embolo (33’), Steven Zuber (39’), Mario Gavranović (49’) and Fabian Frei (69’).