Holzhauser urges Austria improvement

Raphael Holzhauser believes Austria must eradicate the defensive errors that cost them dear against England and France if they are to end UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group A by beating the Netherlands.

The VfB Stuttgart midfielder, born on 16 February 1993, is the second youngest player at the tournament yet showed maturity beyond his years as he sought to explain the defects that scuppered Austria in their first two games. "Against France we made too many mistakes in defence," he said to UEFA.com about Wednesday's 5-0 loss. "Up front we had two or three chances in the first half we didn't manage to convert. That was the difference. We didn't keep up with them."

The final margin of defeat in that second match was swollen by four France goals in the last 24 minutes, and Holzhauser acknowledged that the physical and mental demands of these finals had taken a toll on Andreas Heraf's young team. "Yes, we conceded goals and it affected us," he said. "When you get two, three goals one after the other, you get tired and you're physically broken. We couldn't keep up after that."

Such wise words belie the fact that, of the players here in Normandy, only Portugal's Agostinho Cá – who turns 17 on Saturday – is younger than the 17-year-old Holzhauser. "It's great," he said. "Obviously it's an honour for me to be here, although at Stuttgart I also play with older players. In fact, I always play with players who are one or two years older. I've already played for Austria's U21 side and I now play for Stuttgart's second team in the third division."

Austria's group campaign concludes in Mondeville against the Netherlands on Saturday evening, and, with a win guaranteeing at least third place and a spot in next year's FIFA U-20 World Cup, Holzhauser knows all is not lost. "This is a benchmark you have to measure yourself against, and so far we haven't measured up. We'll try to change that against the Netherlands. We still have a chance of reaching the semi-finals or clinching third position."

Having missed the 3-2 opening defeat by England through suspension, the tall midfielder is well placed to calculate what Austria must do and his solution is a simple one. "We have to be better," he said. "We must be more solid at the back and capitalise on our chances going forward. It has to be our aim to make fewer mistakes at the back and up front to get the goals. We have to push on. We can't give up now."