Austria head to Euro 2024 buoyed up by a five-match winning streak, with only one defeat in qualification, and heartened by coach Ralf Rangnick’s decision to turn down a job as Bayern Munich manager to stick with a national side he has transformed.
But Austrian hopes that the team’s high-pressing, attacking style could cause an upset in Germany, where it faces World Cup runner-up France, the Netherlands and Poland in Group D, have been dashed by a string of injuries to key players.
Midfielder Xaver Schlager will miss the tournament after damaging his left knee at the start of May. Days later, first-choice goalkeeper Alexander Schlager also picked up a knee problem.
Rangnick left Austria captain David Alaba out of the provisional Euro 2024 squad after the Real Madrid defender was unable to recover in time from a serious knee injury sustained last December. But he will accompany the team to Germany and support from the sidelines as a ‘non-playing captain’
AUSTRIA AT A GLANCE
Also missing is striker Sasa Kalajdzic, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in February.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marcel Sabitzer is a key hope for the team, however, heading to the Euros after a stellar run with his club and an appearance in the Champions League final on June 1 against Real Madrid.
After Poland became the last team to qualify for Group D in March, Rangnick said, “We knew from the start we had a strong group. Nothing has changed.”
He has described France as the toughest opponents it could have drawn but noted that Austria drew 1-1 with it in the UEFA Nations League in June 2022, a month after he took charge.
Former Austria striker Marc Janko told Der Standard newspaper that while the injuries were a blow, Rangnick had options after preparing a broad base of young players.
“Rangnick is not the type to start lamenting, his mentality is ‘Let’s get on with it - now more than ever’. His not going to Bayern set a good foundation. It was a gesture of love by him. The team has grown together,” he said.
The German coach has won huge admiration in Austria for introducing a high-pressing, fast-running and entertaining game.
Last year ended on a high with a 2-0 victory over Germany in a friendly in Vienna. In March, midfielder Christoph Baumgartner scored the fastest recorded goal in international football, six seconds after kick-off in a friendly with Slovakia. Austria’s most recent outing was a 6-1 win over Turkey.
It plays friendlies against Serbia on June 4 and Switzerland four days later and will kick off its Euro campaign against France on June 17 in Duesseldorf.
PROVISIONAL SQUAD
AUSTRIA MATCH SCHEDULE
LIVESTREAM AND TELECAST INFO
(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)
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