Austria Euro 2020 squad profile: Best player, manager and Euros record

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This is the Austria Euro 2020 squad – and what you need to know about them

Austria Euro 2020 squad
(Image credit: Getty)

The Austria Euro 2020 squad for this summer has been announced.

English fans may recognise the like of former West Ham forward Marko Arnautivic and Watford goalkeeper Pavao Pervan, while Bayern Munich's David Alaba and RB Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer are regularly seen in the Champions League.

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Austria Euro 2020 squad

Austria Euro 2020 squad: Team profile

Austria went into Euro 2016 as dark horses after an understated but impressive unbeaten qualifying campaign, winning nine, drawing once and beating Russia home and away. However, hopes were swiftly dashed with a tame group-stage exit and only a point to take home, albeit from eventual champions Portugal. 

This time around, Das Nationalteam qualified with about as much creativity
as their nickname would suggest, but keeping expectations to a minimum is probably for the best in 2021 anyway. To partially misquote John Cleese in Clockwise, it’s the hope that kills you.

Franco Foda’s side recovered from a slow start in their qualifying group thanks to some attritional and uninspiring victories over Slovenia, Israel and North Macedonia, but many fans were left to rue a lack of goal threat and a reluctance to bring through younger players, in particular those performing admirably at Austrian clubs. That did change somewhat as the set-up showed a hint of experimentation towards the end of 2020, but mixed results may well have tempted the coach to double down on
his conservative tendencies. 

Haunted by the wasted potential of those 2016 finals, Austria will have to find a way to break off the shackles quickly if they’re going to make an impact at Euro 2020, especially with a game against the Netherlands sandwiched between winnable games against familiar foes North Macedonia and Ukraine.

A cruciate ligament injury for midfield stalwart Julian Baumgartlinger was a nightmare start to 2021, but he makes the squad. Question marks also surround the form and fitness of Marko Arnautovic, despite a decent scoring return at Shanghai SIPG. West Ham fans will be familiar with that curious mixture of planetary-sized ego and general sense of ennui.

Can Foda’s team find their feet (and their shooting boots) fast enough to earn themselves a longer stay at the finals this time? And will David Alaba demonstrate his world-class ability in a more attacking role than he’s used to at club level with Bayern Munich? The stage is all set for a national hero to emerge. 

Austria Euro 2020 squad: Who is Austria's best player?

Marcel Sabitzer

The RB Leipzig midfielder, 27, has established himself as one of the finest all-round attackers in the German Bundesliga. With some sensational strikes on the big stage in the Champions League and the knack for a good free-kick, he possesses just the kind of technical quality and flair 

Austria Euro 2020 squad: Who is Austria manager?

Franco Foda

The first German to manage Austria, former Sturm Graz boss Foda fulfilled his primary duty in qualifying but nothing more, and his conservative style did little to muster enthusiasm from either fans or pundits. 

Austria Euro 2020 squad: Austria's past Euros record

Austria have two previous Euro qualifications under their belt, but failed to make it past the group stage in both 2008 and 2016.

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FourFourTwo Staff
FourFourTwo Staff

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.