Kalajdzic: "In the end, only the three points count"

Austria has kicked off their UEFA Nations League campaign with a victory!

Rangnick's squad secured a 3-1 home victory against Israel in Linz to start their campaign. For a long time, the ÖFB team struggled against a deep block, but in the end, the three points gained are what matters.

For striker Sasa Kalajdzic, it was a very special match in front of his "own crowd" at the Raiffeisen Arena.

Kalajdzic reviews the match

The LASK attacker came on in the first half for the injured Michael Gregoritsch, won the penalty for the 1-0 lead, and scored the 3-1 goal in stoppage time.

"It was important that we scored the second goal. For the third, they then opened up, and we punished that clinically. Of course, we could have scored earlier, but we'll take it this way," Kalajdzic told "ORF" immediately after the final whistle.

The deep block: a problem

For long periods, they struggled against well-organized visitors. But this was to be expected, as the 29-year-old confirmed: "We knew Israel would try to find creative solutions. We struggled at the beginning, then we did better."

He was satisfied with the performance after half-time. "We were good in the game then. The conceded goal was unnecessary; I think it was their first shot on target. After that, they just defended and weakened themselves. In the end, the three points count."

Even though the ÖFB team had problems against the deep block as usual, the joy over the three points ultimately prevailed.