Schöpf brought on in home victory, Rönnow on bench for big win

Austria, who started their World Cup qualifying campaign three days earlier with a 2-2 draw in Scotland, initially fell behind against their opponents from the Faroe Islands. Sonni Ragnar Nattestad of Irish side Dundalk FC had put the underdogs ahead with a header after 19 minutes in Vienna, however Austria coach Franco Foda oversaw a decisive comeback before the end of the first 45 minutes. Bayer Leverkusen’s Aleksandar Dragovic (30’), TSG Hoffenheim’s Christoph Baumgartner (37’) and VfB Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic (44′) made it 3-1 to the hosts at the break, with no more goalscoring action in the second half.

Alessandro Schöpf was brought on at the Ernst Happel Stadium in the 64th minute, replacing FC Bayern’s David Alaba.

Rönnow watches goalfest in Herning

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand made ten changes to his starting XI compared to the 2-0 away win in Israel three days earlier. Only goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel remained in the starting line-up against Moldova, meaning that Frederik Rönnow was on the bench again.

From this vantage point, Schalke’s goalkeeper watched a goalfest as the Danes put eight past their opponents. On the scoresheet for Denmark were Kasper Dolberg of OGC Nice (19’, 48’), Mikkel Damsgaard of Sampdoria (21’, 29’), Jens Stryger Larsen of Udinese (35’), Mathias Jensen of Brentford (38’), Robert Skov of Hoffenheim (81’), and Union Berlin’s Marcus Ingvartsen (89’).

Schalker clash in Austrian capital

Two Royal Blues meet head-to-head on international duty on Wednesday at 20:45 CEST, when Austria take on Denmark in Vienna. Austria sit in second place in Group F on four points, while Denmark are top of the pile with two games won from two and six points.