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Austria European Championship Record
Group stage: 2008
Did not qualify: 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012
Total: W0 D1 L2 1:3
Austria Euro 2021 Qualifying Record
W9 D1 L0 22:5
Austria Euro 2021 Group Fixtures
14th June @18:00 – Austria vs Hungary (Stade Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux)
18th June @21:00 – Portugal vs Austria (Parc des Princes, Paris)
22nd June @18:00 – Iceland vs Austria (Stade de France, Paris)
Road to Euro 2021
Even if nobody had expected Austria to progress from the group that also contained Russia and Sweden, Das Team were thoroughly impressive throughout the qualifying campaign, dropping just two points on the road towards the first ever successful European Championship qualifying campaign. Their job was made easier by Fabio Capello’s experiments on the Russia bench, as Austria probably would not have beaten Sbornaya Komanda two times had Leonid Slutsky been in charge at the time.
Nevertheless, Marcel Koller’s side performed admirably in all ten fixtures, scoring 22 goals and conceding just 5 to climb to 10th position in the FIFA Rankings. The national team coach had no reason to make major changes to his starting line-up, with no fewer than six players starting all ten matches, and striker Marc Janko proving the doubters wrong with 7 goals. David Alaba scored four, while Marko Arnautovic and Martin Harnik contributed three each.
Style of Play
There was plenty wrong with the national team when Marcel Koller took over the reigns in October 2011, but he was given time to rebuild the squad and there was no pressure on the manager even when Austria failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals. Koller resisted the temptation to make too many changes to his squad and decided to rely on a same group of players in an attempt to create the best possible team spirit, which proved a very good decision.
This togetherness can at times compensate for the lack of quality in some departments and the fact this team have played together for several years now can be a major advantage at the Euro 2021 finals. Das Team almost exclusively line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, where Bayern Munich defender David Alaba assumes the role of a deep-lying playmaker and is also a danger from set pieces as witnessed by four goals scored in the qualifying campaign.
Austria cannot be regarded as a defence-minded side, but coach Marcel Koller places an emphasis on strong back line, with all the players helping out in defensive phase. Das Team boast a rock-solid defence, where captain Christian Fuchs and Aleksandar Dragovic stand out, with holding midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger also covering for the back four.
At the same time, Austria tend to adopt a positive approach, with the likes of Martin Harnik, Zlatko Junuzovic and Marko Arnautovic not only capable of creating chances for lone striker Marc Janko, but also boasting impressive goalscoring records and usually proving quite a danger in the final third. Speaking about their top scorer, it is important to note that he has fully justified the trust placed in him, as coach Koller didn’t hesitate to keep him in the starting line-up even when he struggled for first team action at club level.
Das Team also have some weaknesses that other sides will be looking to exploit, as they are very predictable in always playing in the same formation and lacking a plan B if things go wrong. On top of that, it is perfectly clear that the coach does not have proper replacements for the likes of Alaba, Fuchs, Arnautovic, Harnik, Junuzovic and Janko, so it goes without saying they will be in problems if any one of them picks up an injury or suspension.
Strong Points
- Excellent team spirit
- High on confidence after successful campaign
- Rock-solid back line
- Goalscoring midfielders
- David Alaba’s set-pieces
- Great fitness levels
Weak Spots
- Too predictable
- Over-reliant on key men
- Lack of experience at major tournaments
Austria Euro 2021 Starting Line-Up
Missing: Veli Kavlak (overlooked)
Prediction
Austria have shown a great deal of promise in the Euro 2021 qualifying campaign and they proved they have what it takes to compete at this level. Das Team features a very balanced squad with decent individual quality and with the likes of Iceland and Hungary also in their group, they can be trusted to qualify for the next stage. Marcel Koller’s side probably will not be able to match star-studded Portugal side, but we expect them to finish in second place.
However, they will then face an uphill task to reach the final stages of the competition, and we doubt they can get past the first knockout stage. Regardless of their finishing position, Austria will get strong opponents in the Last 16 stage, and the lack of experience as well as lack of cover for starting places should prove their undoing. We expect Das Team to do better than in their first ever appearance at the European Championship finals, but also predict they will crash out in the Last 16 stage.
IST Tip: Austria to finish in Group F top 2
Odds: 1.60 (3/5) @888sport
Interesting Markets
*Portugal/Austria Group F Straight Forecast is 3.50 (5/2) @Winner
*Austria to be eliminated in Last 16 is 2.40 (7/5) @888sport
*Austria to take 6 group stage points is 5.50 (9/2) @888sport
*Austria to win Group F is 3.25 (9/4) @BetVictor
*Austria to reach quarter-finals is 2.50 (3/2) @bet365
Austria Euro 2021 Squad:
Goalkeepers: Robert Almer (Austria Vienna), Heinz Lindner (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ramazan Oezcan (Ingolstadt);
Defenders: Aleksandar Dragovic (Dynamo Kiev), Christian Fuchs (Leicester), Gyorgy Garics (Darmstadt), Martin Hinteregger (Moenchengladbach), Florian Klein (Stuttgart), Sebastian Prodl (Watford), Markus Suttner (Ingolstadt), Kevin Wimmer (Tottenham);
Midfielders: David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Marko Arnautovic (Stoke), Julian Baumgartlinger (Mainz), Martin Harnik (Stuttgart), Stefan Ilsanker (Leipzig), Jakob Jantscher (Lucerne), Zlatko Junuzovic (Werder Bremen), Marcel Sabitzer (Leipzig), Alessandro Schoepf (Schalke);
Forwards: Lukas Hinterseer (Ingolstadt), Rubin Okotie (1860 Munich), Marc Janko (Basel).
Last updated: 5th June 2016
