Austria National Football Team

Manager / Franco Foda
Appointed / October 2017
Captain / David Alaba
Top Scorer in Euro 2020 Qualifiers / Marko Arnautovic, 6
Top Scorer in Squad (Domestic season 2020-21) /Sasa Kalajdzic, 16 (Stuttgart, German Bundesliga)
Most Carded in qualifying / 5 players on 2 yellows (Laimer, Arnautovic, Lazaro, Sabitzer, Dragovic)
Group / C, vs. North Macedonia (13/06/2021), vs. Netherlands (17/06/2021), vs. Ukraine (21/06/2021)

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *

Austria Road to Euro 2020

Franco Foda’s side did make hard work of what should’ve been a far more comfortable group than they made it for themselves. They eventually finished 2nd, six points behind group winners Poland though their slow start to the qualifying campaign did give hope to the likes of North Macedonia and Slovenia beneath them, and actually finished closer to those two nations than they did to topping the group, a damning inditement of Foda’s side. Form, if not performances, had picked up ahead of the Euros but an eight-game unbeaten run came emphatically to an end as they were pummelled 4-0 by Denmark at the end of March. With there potentially being a softish route to the semi-finals of the winners of this group, Austria don’t look in the best shape to take advantage of what is a great opportunity.

Austria Euro 2020 Squad

The vast majority of Froda’s 26-man squad ply their trade in the German Bundesliga and that is reflected in their style of play. They focus on pressing, although how suited that is to a major tournament coming off the back of probably the most gruelling league season in recent memory is yet to be seen. They can be very pedestrian in possession which has led to pressure on their head coach Foda. A poor performance here with a talented squad and a potentially favourable draw to the latter stage of the tournament will almost certainly lead to Foda being forced out.

Goalkeeper

LASK Linz’s Alexander Schlager became his country’s number one in the most recent break back in March and should find himself between the sticks against North Macedonia. Pavao Pervan played just twice for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga and Watford’s Daniel Bachmann has yet to make his competitive international debut, yet has been in a couple of squads before. It should be Schalger’s spot to lose, though none of the options are truly world class.

Defence

The big question mark is where David Alaba will play. His versatility has come in handy for his club side Bayern Munich, with the soon to be departing 28-year-old doing a job for the German champions at centre-back, central midfield and even further forward on occasion, as well as his more familiar left-back role. It hasn’t been too helpful to his national side however, and his desire to play further forward for Austria hasn’t always worked out too well. He could find himself in any one of three or four positions at Euro 2020 and should he line-up in midfield, RB Salzburg captain Andreas Ulmer should fill in at left back. Unfortunately, Stefan Lainer will likely start as the other full-back, as his deputy, Christoph Trimmel, being a card magnet. He’s managed at least nine yellow cards in three of his last four league seasons at Union Berlin, so he could be worth looking out for if he finds himself with some meaningful game time.

Midfield

Again, the spectre of Alaba’s ego hangs over the Austrian midfield, meaning there are few nailed on starters in Foda’s midfield five. RB Leipzig’s Marcel Sabitzer is one though, and should be tasked with getting closest to the lone striker. He notched eight league goals last season and averaged just a touch under a shot on target a game for RB Leipzig, and with eight goals in 48 Austria caps he could be one to keep an eye on for goals and bet builders.

Attack

Foda has an interesting pool of strikers to choose from. The one most will be familiar with is former West Ham man Marko Arnautovic, though there are concerns that three seasons in China haven’t done the 32-year-old many favours, despite a decent scoring record. Adrian Grbic and Michael Gregoritsch will have to be content with bit part roles after quiet seasons at Lorient and Augsburg respectively, meaning the door is open for the ginormous Sasa Kalajdzic to lead the Austrian line. A double against Scotland in March should mean the 6ft 7in Stuttgart star will be given a chance to impress, and 16 goals in his debut German Bundesliga season suggests he’s ready.

Predicted Line-up vs. North Macedonia: A. Schlager; Lainer, Dragovic, Hinteregger, Ulmer; Baumgartlinger, X. Schlager, Alaba, Sabitzer, Baumgartner; Kalajdzic. (4-2-3-1)

Austria Euro 2020 Betting Tips & Predictions

As I touched upon, the winners of this group do face the prospect of a simple draw through to the semi-finals, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Austria top this group (6.0). Holland are far from a settled side as their friendly draw with Scotland showed and boast a similarly under-pressure coach to the Austrians so they could sneak their way to a top spot finish.

I would be surprised to see them really take advantage of their potential knock-out stages draw though. All does not seem well and there’s question marks over Alaba’s best position but I don’t think they’ll have enough to get past any of the third-placed teams in the Last 16. Austria to be eliminated at the Quarter-Finals at 5.0, or just to reach the same stage at 3.6 both look encouraging, especially if they do end up playing Denmark at that stage.

Austria have struggled at the Euros, though a favourable draw both in the group stages and into the knock-outs should they top their winnable group does present a talented squad with a good chance of making an impression at a major tournament for the first time in over 70 years.

Predicted stage of elimination: Quarter Finals

How to watch Netherlands v Austria in Euro 2020

📅   When / Thursday, 17 June 2021, 20:00 BST
🏟   Where / Johan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam)
📺   TV / BBC One, ZDF
📱   Online streaming / bet365