Again no victory for world champion France in the Nations League, stuck game for Austria: Due to a power failure, the home game premiere of the new national coach Ralf Rangnick against Denmark was only started 90 minutes late.
And while the game was still being played at the Ernst Happel Stadium, the world champions in Split did not get more than a 1-1 (0-0) draw against Croatia in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final.
Adrien Rabiot from Italian record champions Juventus Turin scored for the guests in the 52nd minute, Andrej Kramaric from TSG Hoffenheim equalized with a penalty kick (83rd).
Head coach Didier Deschamps surprisingly did without his top strikers Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe.
Instead, Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku was in the starting lineup, but his goal in the first half was disallowed for being offside.
No “football festival” in Vienna
At this point the players from Austria and Denmark were warming up for a second time.
Shortly after 8:00 p.m., the lights went out in large parts of the 2nd district of Vienna in the truest sense of the word.
Around 1,500 households were affected by the blackout, and nothing worked in the famous Vienna Prater for more than an hour.
“We’re sorry for the delay. Everything was done on time for a football festival,” said Bernhard Neuhold, managing director of the association, to “ORF”.
The Austrians started the Nations League with a 3-0 win over runners-up Croatia.
La Ola waves via mobile phone light
The viewers bridged the involuntary forced break with songs and several La Ola waves via mobile phone light.
When the floodlights stabilized again, loud cheers erupted. A possible postponement of the game was thus off the table.
The Nations League will continue on Tuesday with six more matches, including the classic between Germany and England in Munich (8.45 p.m. / ZDF).