Austria 2020 UEFA Euro Betting
Soccer is not something that Austria is known for on the international level. The country’s climate lends itself more to winter sports, and that’s why Austria boasts the sixth-most medals of any nation at the Winter Olympics. Austria has a chance of getting out of the Group Stage of EURO 2020 thanks to a favorable group draw, but it’s going to be difficult for this team to win a game in the knockout rounds.
Austria Squad Profile
UEFA Euro Odds: +12500
Coach: Franco Foda
FIFA Ranking: 23
Best Finish: Group Stage (2008 and 2016)
Group: C ( Netherlands, North Macedonia and Ukraine )
How They Got Here
We saw Austria receive a fortunate draw when it came to qualifying groups for EURO 2020. Austria was placed in a group with other decent teams like Poland, Slovenia, and Israel, but no other juggernauts.
Despite the nice draw, Austria lost three games and needed some time to pull ahead of North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Israel. They finished with a record of 6-1-3 and suffered a 4-2 loss to Israel early in qualifying before rebounding to finish second behind Poland.
Team Preview
There isn’t a ton of proven talent on Austria. They haven’t had much success on the international stage since the 1950s, and they are one of the longshots entering the Euros.
Most of the best players on the roster play their club soccer in Germany. That’s a good thing as it breeds familiarity, and it also gives them experience in a top-flight league as the Austrian Bundesliga is several rungs below the German Bundesliga in the pecking order.
The most well-known player on the roster is midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger. He is the captain of the Austrian national team. Baumgartlinger has 82 appearances and is one of the most capped players on the roster. He has been a key cog for Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen over the last decade, but he isn’t much of a goal scorer.
Marko Arnautovic is the player that Austria will rely on for scoring. Arnautovic can be a true No. 9 that does it all on his own as he spent four seasons with defensively minded Stoke City before joining West Ham. He has spent the last couple seasons with Shanghai Port in the Chinese Super League, notching 19 goals in 30 matches. Arnautovic has 26 goals for Austria, and that’s almost twice as many as any other player on the team.
The best players for Austria are in the back line. David Alaba has gotten it done on the international and club level as an outside defender that runs up and down the pitch in order to create chances for his team. Alaba has been a hero for Bayern Munich multiple times over the last decade, and his 14 goals are the second-most on the team.
Aleksandar Dragovic, Stefan Lainer, and Martin Hinteregger are also expected to feature in the back line. All four of those players suit up for top clubs in the Bundesliga.
Austria Schedule
GROUP STAGE
Sunday June 13
Austria vs. North Macedonia (Bucharest; noon ET, 6 p.m.)
Thursday June 17
Netherlands vs. Austria (Amsterdam; 3 p.m. ET, 9 p.m.)
Monday June 21
Ukraine vs. Austria (Bucharest; noon ET, 6 p.m.)
Austria’s History at the European Championships
Austria earned a fourth-place finish at the 1934 World Cup and a third-place finish at the 1954 World Cup. They have yet to make it to the knockout rounds of any major international competition since that point though. Austria has been stuck in the Group Stage for its last five World Cup appearances, and the team hasn’t qualified for the biggest competition in international football since 1998.
Although Austria came close a few times, the country failed to qualify for the Euros until co-hosting the competition with Switzerland in 2008. They were able to play all their matches in Vienna, but they lost 1-0 to Croatia and Germany and needed a penalty conversion in extra time to salvage a 1-1 draw with Poland.
We saw Austria make its second appearance at the Euros in 2016. They had hope of making it out of a group that only had one heavyweight (Portugal), but they lost to Hungary in the opener and then conceded a goal in the fourth minute of extra time to send Iceland through to the knockout rounds. They picked up a point against Portugal, but Austria was the only team in the group to fail to make it to the Round of 16.
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