Germany march on, but not as emphatically as appearances suggest. The eight-times champions were given an almighty fright by Austria, who contributed hugely to a pulsating contest, and they may be glad of such a test by the time Wednesday’s semi-final comes around. It will take an outstanding opponent to dislodge Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side but France, the Netherlands and, for that matter, England will have been encouraged by some of the weaknesses that were exposed here.
They would have been prised wide open if one of Austria’s near-misses had brought greater reward. The underdogs struck the woodwork three times and, while Germany did so on two occasions of their own, it was testament to the way they carried the fight. It was also a reminder that Austria are not really minnows any more: after finishing third on their debut in 2017 they matched their celebrated neighbours for long periods here and it is unthinkable that their days challenging at this level are over.
