All Time World Cup!
Sindelar 37, Krankl 82
SANTIAGO – Nacional
Both sides preferred skill to hard running, but Mexico seemed to be over-awed by their surroundings. 178-cap Claudio Suarez looked suitably composed in defence, ahead of legendary keeper Antonio Carbajal, who played in five World Cups in a row from 1950 onwards.
Up front Hugo Sanchez was always a threat, but was well-marshalled by Hanappi and Happel. Mexico’s problem was that in midfield they were never able to get to grips with Austria’s star duo Matthias Sindelar and Ernst Ocwirk. Two players of immense skill, they illustrate the difficulty in comparing modern tactics with those prior to about 1960.
In their day, Ocwirk was known as a centre-half, while Sindelar was a centre forward. In today’s terms though, they would both probably play in midfield, more like Pirlo and Kaka respectively than Terry and Owen.
The two always seemed to be able to work their way around their opposite numbers in the middle of the park, but could not find a cutting edge from their target men. Eventually, the great pair combined to create the opening goal themselves. Tall, commanding Ocwirk stepped forward through midfield.
Neither Bernal nor Garcia Aspe tracked him properly, so he kept going. He feigned to ping a long ball out to Alfred Korner on the left wing, but at the last moment put his foot on the ball and switched to the other side of the pitch. The Mexican defence had fallen for the trick, and Sindelar, known as “The Man Of Paper” for his slender build, ghosted into the box through the inside-right channel to finish with aplomb.
The Mexicans huffed and puffed, but although Austria were not the greatest side defensively, they were able to snuff out the supply line to Sanchez fairly easily. Fifteen minutes into the second half Mexico threw on Cuauhtemoc Blanco to try to improve that supply line, but Austria rode out a ten minute spell of Mexican pressure, and gradually the Latin heads started to drop.
In the last ten minutes Hans Krankl sealed the result with a downward header from a deep Hasil cross.
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