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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 they face World Cup runners-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’.
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 they could have drawn but noted that Austria drew 1-1 with them 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.
They play friendlies against Serbia on June 4 and Switzerland four days later and will kick off their Euro campaign against France on June 17 in Duesseldorf.
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