Austria will host Azerbaijan knowing that a win will secure their spot in Euro 2024. If subsequent outcomes go their way, the visitors might even qualify with a tie. On Friday, the hosts only managed to record their first Group F victory.
Preview (Azerbaijan vs. Austria)
When Ralf Rangnick’s team last faced Belgium at the Ernst Happel Stadion, Austria narrowly lost in the matchup between Group F’s top two teams after previously coming close to a third consecutive trip in the European Championship. It took late goals from Konrad Laimer and Marcel Sabitzer to cut the Austrians’ deficit in a 3-2 loss at home to the Red Devils, which puts them three points behind their Belgian counterparts in the rankings with two games remaining. Romelu Lukaku and company now have a direct ticket to Euro 2024. Austria still needs to defeat Azerbaijan or risk losing by at least three goals and hoping Sweden loses to Belgium.
Despite this, they still hold a seven-point lead over third-placed Sweden after having played one more game. Austria can count on visiting bottom-dwelling Estonia in November to complete the task. Rangnick would want his injured team to react and clinch qualifying as soon as possible. Their eight-game unbeaten streak come to such a sad end.
Prior to Friday’s match against fellow underdogs Estonia, Azerbaijan had dropped three of their four qualifying games, including a 4-1 loss in Linz earlier this year when they last faced Austria. The bottom two teams in Group F faced a battle in Tallinn, and the Azeris prevailed courtesy of goals from Ramil Sheydayev and Toral Bayramov in the first half. Ramil Sheydayev, who came through Russia’s junior system, currently plays club football in Thailand. Gianni De Biasi’s team must now defeat Austria by at least three goals to stay in the running. Just four points and the remote possibility of a top-two finish.
The 121st-ranked country in FIFA’s world rankings will play the Swedes and Belgium in their final two matches of the season, which makes adding more points less likely. Securing back-to-back victories will at least bolster confidence ahead of Monday’s match in Baku. Only the Belgians have defeated the Azeris since June 2022.
Team News
Austria will have to replace both Real Madrid’s David Alaba and Inter Milan’s striker Marko Arnautovic in Azerbaijan despite being without two of their most important players this month. Michael Gregoritsch and Lens defender Kevin Danso are both doubtful. Stefan Posch (thigh) and Gernot Trauner (knee) are also out due to injury. Ralf Rangnick still has a wide range of alternatives in a 26-man squad. Sasa Kalajdzic of Wolves and Manprit Sarkaria will compete for the starting attack spot in Arnautovic’s absence.
Marcel Sabitzer could also be added to energize the visiting midfield. Emin Mahmudov and Ramil Sheydayev will likely be included in Azerbaijan’s starting lineup against Austria as they attempt to build on their victory from last Friday. Mahir Emreli of Dinamo Zagreb should join them, though Renat Dadashov is also a possibility. Any visiting team will find it difficult to earn all three points at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, thus Austria may only win by a slender margin on Monday to ensure qualification.
Azerbaijan 1 – 2 Austria
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