History at UEFA Euro

Austria is a team with a short story in the Euro. They managed to enter into this tournament in 2008 for the first time. Later, they took another ticket in 2016 thanks to the expansion from 16 to 24 teams. This time, they completed the qualification with some ease as the group didn’t include the big favorite teams from Europe. Still, this will be their third tournament in the last four editions and we can consider them a good rival. Regarding the squad, the offensive side improved a lot in the last few years with players who play in the biggest European leagues. Also, their new (2017) coach Franco Fonda, might not be a famous guy up to this point, but his current record with the Austria (14-2-6) is just amazing.

Records & Rankings

Most caps: Andreas Herzog – 103 Times
Most goals: Toni Polster – 44 Goals
Largest win: 9-0 against Malta (30 July 1977)
Largest win at European Championship: No victories achieved yet
Most consecutive games without a defeat: 14 games – Between 1931 and 1932
Most consecutive wins: 7 two times – Between 1933-1934 and between 2017-2018
Highest FIFA Ranking: 11th

Ones to watch

Julian Baumgartlinger:

He is the current captain and one of the midfielders in Austria thanks to its experience with the Austrian national team: 43 caps with the youth teams (U16 to U21) and 79 caps with the main one. Also, he has been playing for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga for the last four years. In general, Julian is one of the creative assets from the Austrian team and the rivals should focus on him if they don’t want to suffer goal opportunities on their side of the field.

David Alaba:

According to many football experts, Alaba is one of the best defenders in the world. However, in the Austrian team, he plays as a left midfielder which makes him an even more dangerous player. His natural defensive position is played in the best team in Germany: Bayern Munich, where he recently won the treble for the second time. In his country, he was voted as the Austrian Footballer of the Year six consecutive times.

Valentino Lazaro:

The still young right midfielder, have had a successful career, playing for teams such as Red Bull Salzburg, Hertha Berlin, Inter Milan, Newcastle United and lately, Borussia Mönchengladbach (as loan from Inter Milan). For the Austrian national team, he is one of the players who grow and advanced from the U16 in 2011 to the main team in 2014, where he has played 28 matches so far.

This is the first team we’ve presented from Group C, stay tuned to read more!