Aside from the three outstanding early chances that were resolutely saved by the mighty Artur Boruc (he of Celtic), the Austrian team in this match delivered very, very little in the way of attacking force.

And the brave (lucky) penalty decision from Englishman Howard Webb changed things. Poland didn’t heed the warning for the pushing and shoving, so probably deserved to have the decision go against them.

A quick look at the defences’ heat maps shows why this game wasn’t a classic. Only one flank out of the four available was utilised, and that was the Austrian left. As we have stressed already a few times on these pages, rampaging full backs seem to be the key, and if you don’t have them, the game is as good as over, both as a spectacle and as a chance of three points for the team lacking the forward-thinking players.

Stats provided by the Castrol Index. Thanks fellas.