The hosts suffered a 2-1 loss to Denmark in their previous match while the world champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Croatia last time out.
Follow Us
Austria will host France in a UEFA Nations League fixture at Ernst Happel Stadion on Friday. Both sides head into the tie on the back of not so great results. The hosts suffered a 2-1 loss to Denmark in their previous match while the world champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Croatia last time out. Les Blues have claimed just one point from their opening two games of the 2022-23 Nations League campaign and currently sit five points behind leaders Denmark in the League A Group 1. Meanwhile Austria sit in between with four points from two matches. It has been 13 years since France last played against Austria in an international game. Their previous meeting came during a World Cup qualifier in October 2009, where Les Blues won in Paris.
The first training session in Austria ??#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/t0nbRvAkO6
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 8, 2022
Austria, under new head coach Ralf Rangnick, are playing an attacking brand of football and in his first game in charge of the Boys, they put three goals past Croatia without reply. Goals from Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch and Marcel Sabitzer helped Rangnick’s side earn three points. However, in the second game, against Denmark, Xaver Schlager canceled out Pierre Emile Hojberg’s opener before Jen Larsen netted a late winner to hand defeat to Austria. Das Team had 17 shots against the Danes but registered only one shot on target. They would be hoping to regain their goal-scoring form on home turf, having netted 11 times in their last four international’s on home soil. And since Austria have not qualified for the World Cup, Rangnick can concentrate his full focus on the Nations League.
France, on the other hand, headed into the 2022-23 Nations League campaign with a seven-game winning run across all competitions, scoring 24 times in the process. However, Didier Deschamps’ side faltered at the start, losing to Denmark before sharing the spoils against Croatia. In Split, Croatia, Andre Kramaric canceled out Andre Rabiot’s opener to share the points. The result extended France’s unbeaten run away from home to 15 matches in all competitions, with their last defeat on the road dating back to June 2019, when they lost to Turkey in a European Championship qualifier.
Read more:
Real Madrid, AC Milan & Paris Saint-Germain create an identically unique STAT; Find out what!
Austria central defender Philipp Lienhart, who has missed the previous two games because of injury, is still doubtful for the France clash. Real Madrid star David Alaba is expected to marshall the back line.
As for France, defender Rafael Varane is out with a hamstring injury and has been replaced with Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate. Meanwhile midfielder N’Golo Kante is could return to the starting XI in place of Aurélien Tchouaméni.
Austria probable starting lineup: Lindner, Posch, Alaba, Wober, Lainer, Laimer, Schlager, Weimann, Sabitzer, Onisiwo, Arnautovic.
France probable starting lineup: Lloris, Kounde, Kimpembe, L Hernandez, Clauss, Kante, Guendouzi, T Hernandez, Griezmann, Benzema, Mbappe.
The UEFA Nations League fixture between Austria and France will take place at the Ernst Happel Stadium and it will kickoff at 12:15 am IST on June 11, Saturday
Select UEFA Nations League 2022-23 matches will be telecast live on the Sony TEN network in India. Besides, live streaming of these matches will be available on SonyLIV and JioTV apps and OTT platforms in India.
