Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic score late to end Austria’s 31-year wait against North Macedonia in Euro 2020.

On Sunday, substitutes Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic scored late goals to give Austria a convincing 3-1 win over European Championship debutants North Macedonia in their opening Group C match, giving them their first tournament victory in 31 years. Gregoritsch headed home David Alaba’s cross in the 78th minute, and Arnautovic scored in the 89th, giving Austria their first win at the Euros and their first major tournament victory since the 1990 World Cup.

“We deserved to win today,” Austria coach Franco Foda said. “The players made history today. You could feel from the first minute that they wanted to win it. The substitutions had an effect and brought new impulse. They were important and the team did everything to win it.”

“I am very satisfied. We started well and were aggressive. Then they scored through a momentary lapse of concentration from us,” Foda said. “After the break, we wanted to increase our passing speed. We were more mobile. We did it really well.”

The Austrians had possession and circulated the ball well, but couldn’t break through until Marcel Sabitzer floated a perfectly-timed cross to the far post. Stefan Lainer jumped into the air to beat goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski from a tight angle.

North Macedonia, the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, equalised 10 minutes later when defender Martin Hinteregger’s clearance first bounced off the back of Sabitzer, and goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann then let the ball slip for captain Goran Pandev to slot in.

That was his country’s first goal in a major tournament, and the forward, who has 38 goals in 120 appearances, became the second-oldest player to score at the Euro after Austria’s Ivica Vastic in 2008.