FC Augsburg

While Ermedin Demirović returned to Augsburg after losing in the semi-finals of the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying play-offs with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fredrik Jensen and Finland played a friendly after their defeat. The 26-year-old opened the scoring in a 2-1 win over Estonia, scoring the rebound from his saved penalty. He also played a big role in the second goal, with his shot from close range hitting the bar and then ending up in the back of the net via Estonia goalkeeper Karl Hein. 

“We had initially hoped that Robert’s injury in training wasn’t a bad one, but unfortunately scans have confirmed it is. Robert is an important part of our team. We wish him all the best for his recovery. He will receive the best possible support from us so that he can recover quickly from this setback and then come back stronger,” commented FCA sporting director Marinko Jurendic. 

Ermedin Demirović and his national team Bosnia and Herzegovina were in the lead right up until the 85th minute of their clash against Ukraine, before the game took an unexpected turn. Roman Yaremchuk netted an equaliser for the visitors, after which Artem Dovbyk nodded home the winner just two minutes prior to the final whistle. With that, Demirović’s EURO 2024 journey came to a frustrating end at the Bilino Polje.

Fredrik Jensen and Finland also stumbled at the last hurdle after falling to a 3-1 defeat against Wales. The 26-year-old forward was substituted on in the 78th minute, but was unable to salvage a spot for his team at EURO 2024.

Six FCA players are on international duty, which meant Thorup was unable to select them for Thursday’s match. Former Augsburg player Lukas Petkov was missing for Fürth, as he was called up for Bulgaria. Both sides gradually grew into the game over the course of the first 15 minutes, with chances falling to both sets of players.

In the 25th minute, Felix Uduokhai opened the scoring for FCA. Robert Gumny flicked Pep Biel’s cross on towards the back post, where the centre-back was waiting to head home. Augsburg would get the chance to extend their lead ten minutes later. Gumny ran the length of the pitch and latched onto a ball into the box. He got a shot off with his weak foot, but his effort crashed against the bar.

FC Augsburg are set to take on SV Werder Bremen on Saturday, 27th April (15:30 CEST), before travelling to Borussia Dortmund one week later on Saturday, 4th May (15:30 CEST). Jess Thorup’s side will then face VfB Stuttgart on matchday 33 at the WWK ARENA on Friday, 10th May (20:30 CEST).

FCA will finally travel to Leverkusen to battle the league-leaders in the last game of the current campaign, which will take place on Saturday, 18th May (15:30 CEST).

The semi-finals and finals of the play-offs will be played on Thursday, 21st March and Tuesday, 26th March (both at 20:45 CET). The winners of the three finals will qualify for this summer’s tournament. 12 teams are taking part in the play-offs, including Ermedin Demirović’s Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kristijan Jakić: “If we were just thinking about the first half, we wouldn’t have deserved the win. We were fortunate to have equalised just prior to the break. We upped our game after play resumed and delivered a strong performance, which allowed us to pick up all three points. We’re happy to have won our fourth game on the trot, as it’s a clear indicator of the self confidence we have as a team. After the international break, we’ll up it to five with a victory over Köln. Of course, I’m also thrilled to have scored two Bundesliga goals in one game for the first time in my career. That was the icing on the cake for me today.”

Arne Maier: “Firstly, I want to say well done to the whole team. Four wins in a row, that’s something that we should be proud of and continue to build on. Nevertheless, the win was certainly hard-fought, as we didn’t perform well before the break. The game was turned on its head they were given their red card and we equalised just before half time, which provided us with a new lease of life. We handled the numerical advantage well, and I’m obviously thrilled that my goal contributed towards the win. However, coming away with all three points as a team is obviously the highlight from today.”

Head coach Jess Thorup sent out the same starting line-up for the third game in a row against a Wolfsburg team that are on a 10-game wait for a win. Mads Pedersen was back in the squad after serving his red-card suspension, while Elvis Rexhbecaj and Tim Breithaupt both missed out due to illness. 

FCA arrived in Wolfsburg with plenty of confidence, having won each of their last three league matches on the bounce. However, the hosts were able to get off to a strong start and took the lead in the ninth minute through Patrick Wimmer. The Austrian was able to score on the turn following a corner. VfL remained in control in the minutes that followed, with Mathias Svanberg (10′), Maximilian Arnold (14′) and Ridle Baku (15′) each going close. 

Thorup’s side were able to find their way into the match as time went on, but were unable to create many chances. Shortly before the break, Wimmer fouled Kevin Mbabu on the edge of the box. Referee Timo Gerach reacted by showing Wimmer a red card for having denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Arne Maier stepped up to take the free kick, which took a deflection on its way into the back of the net to level the scores (45+3′).

The 1-0 win against Heidenheim last time out was, in the eyes of head coach Jess Thorup, a typically competitive clash: “We defended very well, gave away almost no chances and scored from a set piece.” His side’s third win in a row moved them up to ninth in the table, but according to Thorup, that is no cause for complacency. “It’s a whole new game – anything could happen! We want to carry our confidence into the Wolfsburg game and come away with a positive result,” said the Dane.
Augsburg have only won four Bundesliga games on the bounce on one occasion, between November and December 2014. Thorup knows that “wins breed confidence. You can see that on the pitch and also in the dressing room.” The FCA head coach described his team’s upcoming opponents as “a highly-motivated team who know what it’s all about,” going on to say: “It will be a tight game, but we’re in a good rhythm and we want to make the most of that.”

The head coach had the same squad on offer to face Heidenheim as in the 6-0 goalfest against Darmstadt last weekend. The hosts were without Mads Pedersen (suspended) and Patric Pfeiffer (thigh issue), as well as former FCH man Niklas Dorsch (foot). 

FCA needed just nine seconds to record their first chance of the afternoon, as Kevin Mbabu was able to get off a shot from inside the Heidenheim area. Finn Dahmen was then called up on parry a shot from Jan-Niklas Beste (10′), before the hosts would go on to take the lead. Arne Maier swung in a corner to the far post, where Jeffrey Gouweleeuw was there to meet it, netting his first goal of the season (23′). 

Augsburg had managed to score three set-piece goals in this season’s reverse fixture against Heidenheim, celebrating a 5-2 win in Thorup’s maiden game at the club. Dead balls are normally one of FCH’s strong suits as well, and travelled to Augsburg sitting in 11th place. The hosts were able to keep them quiet in the opening half, however, and took a 1-0 lead with them into the break.