An incoherent national team always seem a surprise but why? There is no English coaching school, no coaching culture, nothing to pass down

Here’s a phrase you might not have heard since 1934. Hey, Austria look good. This is a new thing in many ways. What do we think of, traditionally, when it comes to Austria and international football? Indeterminate makeweights. The pre-war Wunderteam. A prosperous strudel repository. The Surrey of greater Germania. The 1990s pomp-rock target-man stylings of Toni Polster.

And now? Modernity. Energy. Grooved patterns. Austria finished top of a group that includes the teams ranked second and seventh in the world. They have been coherent, joined-up, even vibrant in a mannered kind of way, the only team in the final round of group games to score three goals, en route to a first victory against the Netherlands in 34 years.

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© Photograph: dts News Agency Germany/REX/Shutterstock

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© Photograph: dts News Agency Germany/REX/Shutterstock

An Austrian forest ranger picked up the rock in 1976. Decades later, scientists discovered the object’s origin story while digging through old photos.

The EU has passed a nature restoration law which, despite its reduced scope appeared to be headed for the policy graveyard. The law was saved by Austria's climate minister, Leonore Gewessler, whose vote of conscience hit the bar of support of 55% of EU member states representing 65% of EU population. Her government attempted to have her vote disregarded, and she now looks likely to face criminal prosecution. (Via fixthenews)