EURO 2021 analysis: Austria have the quality to reach the quarter-finals

The Austrians have for a long time had a quality team consisting of players playing mainly in the German Bundesliga. At the last Euro, despite high expectations, they only won one single point. This time around, they are expected to do much better. However, the last group game against Ukraine will most likely decide their success or failure.

Goalkeepers: Daniel Bachmann (Watford), Pavao Pervan (Wolfsburg), Alexander Schlager (LASK)

Alexander Schlager has been the number one choice lately, as he is a goalkeeper in the Austrian Bundesliga for LASK and has already played 6 matches for the national team.

However, his rival Daniel Bachmann, who was only on the bench for half of the season at Watford, was given a chance, which he took, and thanks to a very good season, he played the last preliminary match against England, in which he only conceded one goal.

Coach Franco Foda thus has two quality goalkeepers to rely on.

Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern), Aleksandar Dragović (Leverkusen), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen), Martin Hinteregger (Frankfurt), Stefan Lainer (Mönchengladbach), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Stefan Posch (Hoffenheim), Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin), Andreas Ulmer (Salzburg)

Given that coach Foda often changes formations from 4 defenders to 3 and vice versa, it’s hard to guess what he’ll come up with in the championship.

Especially the pair Alaba – Lainer are often used in attack. And it’s perfectly logical, after all you don’t leave your best players retracted in defence. But Lainer is used more defensively than Alaba, who often plays on the left wing alongside the strikers.

In any case, defence has been a big problem for the Austrian side in recent qualifying matches, and they will end their journey in the group stage if they don’t solve it.

Midfielders: Julian Baumgartlinger (Leverkusen), Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Stefan Ilsanker (Frankfurt), Konrad Laimer (Leipzig), Valentino Lazaro (Inter Milan), Marcel Sabitzer (Leipzig), Louis Schaub (Lucerne), Xaver Schlager (Wolfsburg), Alessandro Schöpf (Schalke)

The Austrian team’s midfield line has great quality, all the more so when you add the aforementioned Alaba – Lainer pair who grind the line. Coach Foda definitely has a lot to choose from here.

Forwards: Marko Arnautovic (Shanghai Port), Michael Gregoritsch (Augsburg), Sasa Kalajdzic (Stuttgart), Karim Onisiwo (Mainz)

The Austrians will probably rely mainly on the talented youngster Kalajdzic, who has scored 17 goals and assisted 6 more in 36 games for Stuttgart this season. This is a great promise for the future!

But as far as scoring goals is concerned, Baumgartlinger and Sabitzer are often used in this case.

However, Arnautovic could also use his experience, as he scored two assists in the last two games.

Team performance can bring success

German coach Foda has a balanced team with many alternatives at his disposal. This squad benefits from teamwork, where apart from Alaba there is no megastar. Moreover, they start the tournament against North Macedonia, which could help them to gain confidence.

The key then, however, will most likely be the last game against Ukraine, with whom they should duke it out to advance out of the group.

If the team puts in a performance that matches the quality of the team, they definitely have a chance to advance! The key will be whether Kalajdzic or the other strikers can convert their chances, there are not many of them at the championship.

This is exactly what they paid for at the last Euro, where they scored only one goal against Iceland. In addition, the defence hasn’t been working lately, so the Austrians will need goals all the more!

Eight-finals