RB Leipzig's Nicolas Seiwald celebrated a strong European Championship debut despite the defeat against France. The Austrian international shone in the 1-0 defeat with eight tackles, the highest tally by an ÖFB professional at a major tournament since 1982, when Bernd Krauss, who later became the successful coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach, made ten tackles against Northern Ireland.
The fact that Seiwald did not get beyond the role of reserve in his first season at RB Leipzig was not noticeable in the 23-year-old's first European Championship appearance. The midfielder played 62 passes with an accuracy of 92 percent. Seiwald lost just one of nine tackles.
A number of people back home regarded Seiwald as the best outfield player in the ÖFB squad. "Won more tackles than an Irish pub brawler on St. Patrick's Day (eight out of nine). Collected balls like Pac-Man, only without fear of French ghosts. Highlight: "Fetched a ball from Griezmann in Greco-Roman," wrote Der Standard. The only drawback: He lacked flashes of inspiration going forward, his passes were more about security.
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