"Spanien ist natürlich auch nicht blöd, sie stellen ihr Spiel um und haben uns dann zeitweise ein bisschen hergespielt"
Nicolas Seiwald sees it a little differently, acknowledging that the Iberians firmly took control of the game in the middle of the second half.
"Until the first hydration break, we were really good, implementing what we had planned. Spain, of course, isn't stupid; they changed their game and then at times played us off the park a bit. It was a very bitter outcome," says the Salzburg native.
A crystal-clear affair
Seeing and feeling the quality of the reigning European champions on the pitch visibly impressed the ÖFB players as well.
Alaba says: "They showed what they are capable of in the 90 minutes. As a team, they made the ball move, in phases where not every team can do that."
Ultimately, it was a clear-cut affair. More decisive than the ÖFB players had imagined.
"So far off"
"We are very disappointed that we were so far off. We missed our opportunities to transition. It's a shame that we couldn't manage to be on par. We had hoped for more from this game," says Michael Gregoritsch.
So, it's back home for Austria. Final words from Marko Arnautovic: "We tried, unfortunately, it didn't work out."
