Future Alcoholic

Austria 1 – 1 Poland

Ivica Vastic, the oldest player in the tournament, converted an injury time penalty kick to give Austria a draw with Poland and, in a development nobody saw coming, make the Germany-Austria match on Monday relevant. The Ottakringer Brewery in Vienna now owes him a lifetime supply of beer, which begs the question “Does Ivica Vastic need a new best friend?”

Roger Guerreiro was unquestionably offside when he scored for Poland, and Sebastien Prodl went down at the slightest of jersey tugs to earn Austria’s penalty, making this the first game of the tournament truly marred by bad officiating. Both teams have legitimate complaints about the other side’s goal, and I’m amazed that any referee would award a penalty so late in the game for such a minor foul, but in my mind the two mistakes cancel each other out and the draw is a fair outcome. Nobody will be expecting Austria to beat Germany and advance out of the group stage, but you can bet the atmosphere for their game will be electric. If you’re a neutral fan and you’re pulling for Germany, you quite obviously have no soul.