Bobble hats, Ayr United and international humiliation: The country with even more reason than Scotland to fear the Faroes

Oh no, not the flipping Faroe Isles again. As the World Cup qualifying draw for Qatar 2020 neared a conclusion, Scotland was not the only place where this cry – perhaps with some slightly stronger words included – was heard.

Jens Martin Knudsen in action for the Faroe Isles (bobble hat not shown)

There is a country with greater reason for discomfort than the Scots at the prospect of a Group F reunion with the Faroes. Austria have an even more torturous relationship with the North Atlantic archipelago.

A dozen years before Scotland clawed a 2-2 draw from a clifftop in Toftir, Austria had come a cropper in the Faroes’ first-ever competitive fixture. Remember the bobble hatted ‘keeper Jens Martin Knudsen? That was when he made his name, throwing himself around the pitch in Landskrona, Sweden (the qualifier had to be switched to a neutral ground because there were no suitable grass pitches in the Faroe Isles). One of Knudsen’s later rewards was a short-lived loan spell at Ayr United, where his blunder led to a 1-0 loss to Livingston in March 2000.

Like Scotland, Austria have not appeared in a World Cup since 1998, when they finished third in a group comprising Italy, Chile and Cameroon. They were actually in Scotland’s qualifying group for France ‘98, finishing with a convincing six wins a row to secure top place with Craig Brown’s side two points behind in second (Sweden, in third, missed out).

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Now ranked 23, Austria are on an upward curve and will compete in next summer’s Euros under German manager Franco Foda. But there was a time when things were not quite as rosy.

Having appeared at Italia ‘90 just three months earlier, like Scotland narrowly missing out on the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams, they were not expected to come unstuck against a team of amateurs setting out on their maiden qualifying adventure. However, on a fateful day for Austrian football, they lost this Euro 92 qualifier 1-0 to invite international humiliation.

Manager Josef Hickersberger quit the next day. He had earlier told his players that if they played badly, they would simply win. If they played well, he added, they’d win by at least eight goals. Toni Polster, Austria’s star striker, predicted a 10-0 landslide.

Hickersberger returned to the manager’s post in 2005 but quit again after Euro 2008, which Austria co-hosted. One of the reasons he gave for this decision was having being drawn against the Faroes Isles in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. “I would have been shaking for a whole month before the game,” Hickersberger said. “It was a personal tragedy for me, the bitterest moment of my career.”

Berti Vogts might empathise. Despite that later draw against the Faroes being branded Scotland’s “worst result since 1872” in a headline in The Scotsman, Vogts hung on as manager … for a while. Not to alarm anyone, but it was Moldova – another team Scotland will be facing on the road to Qatar – who finished his reign off.

The year was 2004. The venue was Chisnau. The Scotland side included Gary Holt, Andy Webster, Steven Caldwell and Stevie Crawford. Steven Thompson scored in a 1-1 draw that completely derailed Scotland World Cup qualifying ambitions. Vogts resigned just over a fortnight later, citing the “disgusting abuse” he had received from a minority of fans.

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