Tom Middler’s Ukraine v Austria preview: will Austria go all-out for victory?
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Our Matchday Squad journalist will be covering Austria throughout Euro 2020
Austria were handed a harsh lesson by the Netherlands in their last match.
Conceding an early VAR-awarded penalty put them on the back foot, and Franco Foda’s side never truly managed to push forward from that moment onwards, as they succumbed to a rather tame 2-0 defeat.
The good news for Austria is that they now face Ukraine with everything still to play for. A draw could well be enough for qualification, but a win would seal the deal – the only question is whether this team are truly capable of throwing the kitchen sink at their opponents to go all-out for victory, especially as the most recent defeat confirmed many of the fans’ fears about Austria playing too defensively.
David Alaba’s position will be Foda’s key decision to make as usual, Austria suddenly looked much brighter once he moved up into the midfield against the Netherlands, and the return of the mercurial Marko Arnautovic might just add the touch of fire power necessary to take Austria through against a tricky Ukraine side.
Predicted result: Ukraine 1-2 Austria.
