Ndukwe sees red! Austria U19 stumble in Euro qualifying opener

Austria's U19 national team have lost their opening match of the 2nd qualifying round for the UEFA U19 Euro 2027.

Head coach Oliver Lederer's side were beaten 1-0 by Belarus in Wiener Neustadt on Wednesday evening.

With this defeat, the Austrian side have slipped up in their first crucial match in the fight to stay in League A.

Ndukwe sent off

Austria dominated the clash at the ERGO Arena from the outset, fashioning good opportunities to take the lead through Ndukwe (5'), Delic (9'), and Deshishku (32'), among others. The contest ultimately went into half-time locked at 0-0.

Shortly after the restart, defensive prodigy Ndukwe turned into the game's tragic figure. The centre-back was shown a red card in the 56th minute following a heavy challenge on the edge of his own penalty area.

Belarus made their numerical advantage count in the 73rd minute, with Titov finishing off fine work by Priemko to make it 1-0.

Euro qualification at stake

Despite their spirited efforts, Austria were unable to turn the tide in the remaining minutes.

Following the first matchday, the Red-White-Red sit third in the standings. Rock bottom are Slovenia, who fell to a 4-1 defeat against group leaders England on Wednesday. To keep their hopes of Euro qualification alive, Austria cannot afford to finish fourth.

The U19 team take on Slovenia in their second fixture on Saturday (18:00), before wrapping up the group against England on Tuesday (14:00).

Line-up against Belarus: Scharner; Ndukwe, Pokorny, Morgenstern; Matosevic (65' Feldinger), Husic (85' Krapf), Markovic, Deshisshku, Werner (46' Nachbar); Moser (65' Jerabek), Delic