Match Preview
Austria and Poland will battle it out in their opening UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday. Both teams are placed in Group G alongside Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia and Israel.
Austria come in looking to change their fortunes in the competition, as they've only qualified twice for Euros, in 2008 and 2016, crashing out of both tournaments without a single victory. However, manager Franco Foda is extremely optimistic about his team's chances this time around, as they have won 10 of their last 14 in all competitions.
On the other hand, Poland is a much renowned force in international football, making consistent appearances at the sport's mega events over the past decade. Therefore, Biało-czerwoni will be somewhat favourites in the matchThursday. However, manager Jerzy Brzeczek will be worried about the team's recent slump in form, as they have gone winless in their last six matches, with three draws and three losses.
Both teams have faced each other thrice before in all competitions, where Poland have an edge of two wins and one draw.
Predicted Lineups
Austria: Heinz Lindner (G), Sebastian Prödl (D), Aleksandar Dragović (D), Martin Hinteregger (D), David Alaba (D), Julian Baumgartlinger (M), Stefan Ilsanker (M), Marcel Sabitzer (M), Valentino Lazaro (M), Marko Arnautovic (F), Marc Janko (F)
Poland: Lukasz Fabianski (G), Kamil Glik (D), Artur Jędrzejczyk (D), Michał Pazdan (D), Thiago Cionek (D), Kamil Grosicki (M), Grzegorz Krychowiak (M), Piotr Zieliński (M), Karol Linetty (M), Robert Lewandowski (F), Krzysztof Piątek (F)
Combined XI
Players to Watch
Match Preview
Austria and Poland will battle it out in their opening UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday. Both teams are placed in Group G alongside Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia and Israel.
Austria come in looking to change their fortunes in the competition, as they've only qualified twice for Euros, in 2008 and 2016, crashing out of both tournaments without a single victory. However, manager Franco Foda is extremely optimistic about his team's chances this time around, as they have won 10 of their last 14 in all competitions.
On the other hand, Poland is a much renowned force in international football, making consistent appearances at the sport's mega events over the past decade. Therefore, Biało-czerwoni will be somewhat favourites in the matchThursday. However, manager Jerzy Brzeczek will be worried about the team's recent slump in form, as they have gone winless in their last six matches, with three draws and three losses.
Both teams have faced each other thrice before in all competitions, where Poland have an edge of two wins and one draw.
Predicted Lineups
Austria: Heinz Lindner (G), Sebastian Prödl (D), Aleksandar Dragović (D), Martin Hinteregger (D), David Alaba (D), Julian Baumgartlinger (M), Stefan Ilsanker (M), Marcel Sabitzer (M), Valentino Lazaro (M), Marko Arnautovic (F), Marc Janko (F)
Poland: Lukasz Fabianski (G), Kamil Glik (D), Artur Jędrzejczyk (D), Michał Pazdan (D), Thiago Cionek (D), Kamil Grosicki (M), Grzegorz Krychowiak (M), Piotr Zieliński (M), Karol Linetty (M), Robert Lewandowski (F), Krzysztof Piątek (F)
Combined XI
Players to Watch
David Alaba (D): Alaba is rated as one the best full-backs in the world. The 26-year-old plays for German champions Bayern Munich and is strong both on the attacking front and defensively. He is averaging 1.2 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.1 clearances per game for Bayern, while also adding two goals and two assists in 22 appearances.
Grzegorz Krychowiak (M): Krychowiak is an underrated midfielder, largely because he falls in the group of players who shine considerably more at the international level than club level. Krychowiak plays for Russian club Lukomotiv Moscow and is having a pretty decent season, averaging 1.5 tackles per game, a number which becomes even more impressive when combined with 2.4 interceptions and 1.3 clearances. For his national team, the 29-year-old becomes an even bigger force in the middle of the park, where he has three tackles per game to go with 3.3 interceptions.
Robert Lewandowski (F): Lewandowski is known as one of the best strikers in the world, and he has shown time and again that he is worthy of that title. The 30-year-old plays for German club Bayern Munich, where he has 18 goals and seven assists in 25 Bundesliga appearances. Therefore, Austria's manager Foda will know that his team have to somehow stop Lewandowski from scoring, as that is the only way his team can come up with a positive result.
Captain pick: Robert Lewandowski
Vice-captain pick: Marko Arnautovic
