Austria vs North Macedonia
Austria commence their Euro 2020 journey when they host North Macedonia in Bucharest this weekend.
These teams are featured in Group C and they are placed together alongside Ukraine and Netherlands.
Similar to Group B, Netherlands are favoured to claim the top spot of Group C but the second place appears to be wide open.
Which is why this game between Austria and North Macedonia is going to set the tone for the rest of the group stage matches and both are eager to start on a great note.
Experience is on the side for Austria since this will be their third Euro finals appearance while North Macedonia are one of the two teams who are making their Euro debut alongside Finland.
Read on below as SBOTOP examines these two countries here in our match preview.
Talking Points
Will Austria achieve their full potential?
Austria are a team full of top-tier talent which is why several pundits see them as one of Euro 2020’s dark horses.
Franco Foda likes to implement a possession-based game and their main strength is the fact that they have quality players who can play interchangeable roles.
One of them is David Alaba, who can play either as a full-back or as a centre-back. The Real Madrid-bound defender can also help out wide through his passing and pace which adds fluidity to their methodical offence.
Another key man to look out for is the young Sasa Kalajdzic, who will play a huge role in spearheading their front alongside the veteran Marko Arnautovic.
They’ll also be joined by fellow Bundesliga standouts Marcel Sabitzer, Stefan Ilsanker, Florian Grillitsch, Stefan Lainer, and Christoph Baumgartner who will hold down the midfield.
After playing poorly these past few months, fans are left unconvinced of their chances to move on to the knockout stages. However, they should be a much tougher draw than their recent results would suggest.
North Macedonia don’t mind being the underdogs
Although this would be the first time that North Macedonia will compete in the Euros, Igor Angelovski’s squad can beat anyone on any given day.
North Macedonia’s game is built on speed and high pressing and they are more than capable of capitalising on opponents’ errors via their quick counterattacks.
Leading the way will be Eljif Elmas who is arguably their best playmaker. The 21-year-old Napoli midfielder is oozing with potential and he is sure to be included in the Euro 2020 highlights reel.
Even with his advancing age, Goran Pandev remains their potent threat out front since he’s the country’s all-time leading scorer with 37 goals and he’ll be joined by the pacey Aleksandar Trajkovski.
Leeds United’s Ezgjan Alioski is also key for the Macedonians as he’ll play the wing-back role similar to David Alaba for Austria.
History
Austria and North Macedonia haven’t faced off before the Euro 2020 qualifiers. In the group stages, Franco Foda’s side won both home and away with an aggregate tally of 6-2.
Austria booked their spot at Euro 2020 as runners-up in Group G behind Poland by winning six of their 10 qualifying matches.
So far, 2021 has been a tough year for them since they’ve only won one of their five games.
They were beaten badly by Denmark last April and they couldn’t get the job done against England and Slovakia during their friendlies this June.
Prior to Euro 2020, North Macedonia have never finished higher than fourth in their qualifiers for an European Championship or a World Cup. They were third behind Poland and Austria in Group G.
But the Macedonians qualified for the Euro 2020 playoffs by topping their 2018/19 Nations League group ahead of Armenia, Gibraltar, and Liechtenstein.
North Macedonia have only lost one of their five international fixtures this year. Their most impressive win to date was their 2-1 shocker against Germany in the World Cup qualifiers.
Betting Tip
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Austria vs North Macedonia | Austria Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 1.67 |
| June 14, 00:00 (GMT+8) |
The Euro 2020 odds tip the Austrians to win their first game of this tournament.
Austria are the favourites at 1.67, while North Macedonia are priced to win at 5.60 and chances for a draw are at 3.35 in the 1X2 market.
Franco Foda’s side owns the major edge in terms of team quality but Igor Angelovski’s men aren’t bowing down that easily.
There’s no doubt that this will be a hard fought contest. But in the end, I see Austria taking home the three points via a small margin.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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