Austria vs Croatia will happen tomorrow. On the penultimate matchday of League A Group 1 in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League, Austria will play host to group leaders Croatia at the Vienna Olympic Stadium.
The match will take place in the evening on Sunday. The team coached by Zlatko Dalic is looking to win to go to the finals of the Nations League. On the other hand, Das Team must win to save their place in the top tier.
Match Preview: Austria vs Croatia
On Thursday night, Austria’s relegation worries were compounded by a 2-0 defeat to France, the defending world, and Nations League winners. The French team had been plagued by scandal off the field and several injuries in the game.
France’s destiny is out of their hands going into the last matchday despite goals from Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud in a game that Austria winning would have kept them in League A at the cost of France’s.
With four points from five games, Das Team is in the fourth position in League A Group 1. However, a loss or a draw would be the end of their stay in League A, since France has a stronger head-to-head record.
If France wins their game against Denmark, then it will not matter what happens at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, and Austria will very certainly be relegated to League B immediately after this round of games.
Rangnick’s side has lost three of their previous four Nations League games and drawn one, and they have gone six home games without a clean sheet in all competitions, but they still retain happy memories of their match against Croatia in the summer.
Croatia and Denmark are in a direct shootout for the top position in League A Group 1 and a coveted ticket to the Finals. Zlatko Dalic’s men accomplished what they had to do against their Scandinavian opponents on Thursday.
Borna Sosa and Lovro Majer’s goals on either side of Christian Eriksen’s comeback placed Croatia in the driver’s seat before the final matchday with a 2-1 victory in Zagreb. It was Croatia’s third consecutive win after completing June with 1-0 victories against Denmark and France.
Croatia’s formula is straightforward with a one-point lead over Denmark. Even a tie or loss would be enough if Denmark cannot beat France.
Das Team should feel cautiously optimistic about their prospects of stopping a weakened Austria assault and reaching the Nations League Finals for the first time, which would boost their confidence before the World Cup.
Austria’s solitary victory in 2022-23 came in a 3-0 thrashing of Croatia on the first matchday in June, although the visitors had won all five previous matches with Das Team dating back to 2000.
Team News: Austria vs Croatia
Kevin Danso, an experienced center defender for Austria, will be eligible to play against Croatia for the first time after serving a suspension for the team’s defeat to France. On the other hand, veteran left back Andreas Ulmer will require a checkup after missing that game with an intestinal ailment.
On Thursday night, Andreas Weimann had a night to forget as the Bristol City player picked up a booking before leaving the game injured in the 50th minute. Rangnick has also revealed that David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic’s absences were also due to fitness-related issues.
Because Sasa Kalajdzic will be out for the near future with an ACL injury, the returning players Danso and Michael Gregoritsch may be asked to fill in for the Austrian squad, which may be far from its full complement of players.
Ivan Perisic, an attacker for Croatia, was forced off the field with an injury in the 71st minute of his team’s victory over Denmark. The tackle that caused the injury was ironically made by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who plays for the same team as Perisic for Tottenham Hotspur.
The severity of his injury is currently unknown. While fans of Croatia and Spurs wait for news on Perisic’s condition, Dalic is well cared for with Mislav Orsic ready to fill the void on the left-hand side.
Additionally, Majer will push to replace Mario Pasalic after scoring the game-winning goal as a substitute in midweek’s match after taking less than a minute to do so.
If Domagoj Vida plays on Sunday, he will become the 10th player in the history of the Croatian men’s national team to earn 100 caps.
However, it is likely that the 33-year-old veteran center back will come off the bench if he does play, as Josko Gvardiol and Josip Sutalo are expected to play together again.
- Austria Possible Starting Lineup: Pentz, Trimmel, Lienhart, Danso, Wober, Sabitzer, Schlager, Siewald, Baumgartner, Onisiwo, Gregoritsch.
- Croatia Possible Starting Lineup: Livakovic, Juranovic, Gvardiol, Sutalo, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Majer, Kramaric, Orsic.
Our Prediction: Austria 0-2 Croatia
With Alaba and Arnautovic, two important cogs in the machine, sitting this match out – or being thrust into the action while not entirely fit – the writing could be up on the wall for an Austria team that is already low in confidence.
Even though just three months ago, Croatia was humiliated by Das Team, the Chequered Ones have improved their defensive game and could clinch a position in the Championships while simultaneously sentencing Austria to lives and coming in League B.
