By DPA
Hamburg : Euro 2008 football co-hosts Austria and Switzerland attempted to look to the bright side after defeats in friendly internationals four months before the tournament begins.
Austria suffered a 3-0 humbling by Germany in Vienna while Switzerland slipped 2-1 to England at Wembley, results that indicate they will have little chance during the June 7-29 Euro 2008.
But Austria’s media said the team’s performance, despite conceding three second-half goals, was encouraging.
“A terribly nice debacle,” wrote Der Standard, saying the Austrian team played for the first hour “as if transformed” compared to its poor displays last year.
“If in the end it was a defeat, we can take heart with a view to Euro from the way the Austrians presented themselves, especially up to 2-0,” it wrote.
Recent Austrian performances had been so bad that a group of fans had urged the federation to withdraw from Euro 2008, saying the team was an “insult”.
But the Kurier said it was “a bright evening with a gloomy end”, saying the Austrians were the better side for long spells until running out of steam.
Die Presse also said the Austrians suffered in the end for the high initial pace of their game. “Zero-three against Germany: Strong spirit, weak body,” it wrote.
Austria coach Josef Hickersberger was also pleased with his side’s spirited performance.
“The naked figures are frustrating and very disappointing for everyone in and around the team,” he said.
“The team played wonderfully in the first half, and would have deserved the lead. In the second half the first decent shot was a goal and then the Germans scored with almost every good chance.”
Captain Andreas Ivanschitz said: “We’ve lost 3-0 and don’t know why. But it’s nice to see that we have taken a step forward.”
Striker Roland Linz said: “The Germans scored three goals from two chances. They were surprised how we played.”
However, defender Emanuel Pogatetz said the team would have to improve physically to have any chance at Euro 2008 where Austria and Germany meet again in a group game in Vienna on June 16.
“After 60, 65 minutes we couldn’t compete and the Germans overran us. They had the space and were ice cold in using it,” he said.
Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn, meanwhile, was not too downhearted by his team’s defeat to England, who failed to qualify for Euro 2008, but were playing for the first time under new coach Fabio Capello.
The Blick daily praised good performances from “brilliant” goalkeeper Diego Benaglio and Eren Derdiyok, who scored on his debut.
However, Swiss media remained sceptical after a third successive defeat, with Tages-Anzeiger saying the Swiss were “not good enough seriously to challenge even a mediocre England”
Wolfsburg goalkeeper Benaglio was “the winner of the evening” but otherwise it was “absolute average” all round with the forward line particularly weak, it wrote.
“As a result Switzerland does not need to have any hopes at the European Championships,” it said.
Kuhn, by contrast, said he was “very satisfied with our performance but of course we hoped for a better result”.
He added: “I knew that Diego Benaglio is a good goalie and Eren Derdiyok had shown what he is capable of in the under-21 side.
“The players who were on the field today have demonstrated that there will be good competition for the 23 (squad) places for the European Championships.”