Sarah Puntigam faces her 109th international match
Austria's national women's soccer team will play a top-class test match against Italy on Monday (4:30 p.m. / live ORF Sport +). In the dress rehearsal for the World Cup qualification, which begins in autumn, Red-White-Red will have to do without the injured captain Viktoria Schnaderbeck. Team boss Irene Fuhrmann, who has fielded 26 players in her previous seven international matches, has another opportunity to put staff to the test.
“We want to use this game again to use players who haven't had that much playing time yet,” said Fuhrmann in a broadcast by the local association (ÖFB). “Italy are an attractive, strong opponent who also exerts a lot of pressure against the ball. That is why we need good positional play on our part in order to get into the attacking third as often as possible. There we currently still have room for improvement.”
The 191st international women's match in Austria is likely to be Sarah Puntigam's 109th. The 28-year-old Styrian in the service of Montpellier would catch up with the record national player Nina Burger. The game also gives the ÖFB the opportunity to say goodbye to Nadine Prohaska. The Viennese, who is already included in the ÖFB Legend Club, declared her career over last summer after 94 international matches (7 goals).
