Mwene after Debut Goal: "I was surprised myself"

It took 33 international caps in Phillipp Mwene's ÖFB career, and for him to turn 32, before it finally happened.

On Thursday, the Viennese player finally scored his first goal in the national jersey. And what an important one it was.

Shortly before the end, the full-back gave Austria a crucial 2-1 lead in the match against Israel, and was thus primarily responsible for preventing a false start in the UEFA Nations League.

"I'm absolutely delighted about my first goal, and it was such a relieving one too," Mwene beamed afterwards.

Simply Stuck Out His Knee

Although the Mainz-based player can certainly be described as a defender with attacking intent, his own goal tally has been rather low until now. His goal on Thursday was only his 14th in 443 senior professional matches.

Perhaps that's why it happened in a somewhat curious way. "I just stuck my knee out and it went in. I'm not a goal-scorer, I don't know if I did it technically correctly, but it worked," he grinned.

When he saw Paul Wanner preparing to cross, "I ran through and was then surprised myself that the ball came so perfectly," said the debut goal-scorer.