1
Spain
21
2
France
22
3
England
20
4
Turkey
17
5
Albania
15
6
Belgium
20
7
Hungary
18
8
Denmark
22
9
Romania
22
10
Portugal
30
11
Scotland
17
12
Netherlands
18
13
Italy
14
14
Croatia
16
15
Czechia
15
16
Austria
19
17
Serbia
14
18
Slovenia
22
19
Switzerland
17
20
Slovakia
22
21
Norway
11
22
Greece
13
23
Ukraine
14
24
Wales
12
25
Poland
11
26
Sweden
10
27
Montenegro
11
28
Finland
18
29
Israel
15
30
Luxembourg
17
31
Georgia
8
32
Republic of Ireland
6
33
FYR Macedonia
8
34
Armenia
8
35
Moldova
10
36
Azerbaijan
7
37
Lithuania
6
38
Kazakhstan
18
39
Belarus
12
40
Iceland
10
41
Cyprus
0
42
Gibraltar
0
43
Malta
0
44
Latvia
3
45
Faroe Islands
2
46
Estonia
1
47
Bulgaria
4
48
Northern Ireland
9
49
Kosovo
11
50
Bosnia and Herzegovina
9
51
San Marino
0
52
Andorra
2
53
Liechtenstein
0
Despite having a more than competitive squad to choose from, Austria put in a disappointing showing in the World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign. They eventually finished 4th in the group behind Serbia, Republic of Ireland, and Wales. Thursday marks the beginning of their attempt to make amends for this poor performance, and it begins with one of the toughest matches of the lot.
Austria and Poland can easily be considered the two favourites for the top spots in Euro 2020 qualifying Group G, with the likes of Israel, Latvia, Macedonia, and Slovenia not really expected to put up much of a fight. With that in mind, this home match against their fellow contenders could prove the difference between finishing 1st and 2nd.
Fortunately for Austria, their form has improved since that ill fated World Cup qualifying campaign. They have won eight, drawn one, and lost three of their 12 matches since that qualifying period ended, and that includes impressive wins against Uruguay, Russia, and Germany. Admittedly their recent losses away to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Denmark were poor though, which means their home form could be crucial in the coming year.
Poland aren’t in great form at all though. They did manage to make it to Russia last summer, but group stage defeats to Senegal and Colombia made their World Cup campaign a short one, and things haven’t improved since then.
They have failed to win any of their six matches since, drawing with Italy, Republic of Ireland, and Portugal and losing all three of their home games. Despite having one of the world’s best strikers in Robert Lewandowski, they have netted just five goals in this period.
On Thursday they come up against an Austrian side who have kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven home games. However, the hosts’ aren’t exactly a free scoring side themselves. This has resulted in a number of low scoring affairs, with 11 of their last 17 home games seeing fewer than three goals scored.
Poland are similarly cautious when on the road, with all but one of their games since the World Cup seeing fewer than three goals. This makes backing Under 2.5 Goals look a good value option on Thursday.