Between Austria, who hasn’t shone for 40 years, and North Macedonia, all new at this level, the meeting promises for the entry into the Euro of two outsiders of the group of the Netherlands, this Sunday, June 13 (6 p.m.) in Bucharest.
On the other hand, for the age of the captain, the hierarchical order is reversed. At 37, Goran Pandev remains the great guide of his selection, when Austria is led by David Alaba (28), Bayern Munich star leaving for Real Madrid. The day has arrived that I have dreamed of all my life. The one for Macedonia to play a major tournament like this
, wrote the star on his account Instagram.
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If the two teams remain unknown to the general public, they hold no secrets from each other, having already crossed paths during qualifying. Austria won both matches, 4-1 in Skopje, with a brace from Marko Arnautovic, and 2-1 in Vienna.
Speaking of acquaintances, Arnautovic played with Pandev in José Mourinho’s Inter Milan in 2010, but the Macedonian was a frame, holder in the Champions League final won against Bayern Munich (2-0), when Arnautovic only played three game ends in the season. So much for the past. For the present, the objective is a little the same: to obtain a first victory in a Euro.
Sepia and Wunderteam
Logical challenge for Macedonian rookies. It is even the most important match in their young history, since the play-off victory against Georgia (1-0), obviously signed by Pandev, and until the next one, still in Bucharest, against Ukraine, on Thursday.
But for Austria, too, this meeting weighs heavily. Because the Viennese eagle has never won a match at the Euro. Two defeats and a draw, it is the identical record of their two participations, in 2008 and 2016. Even at home, during Euro 2008 co-organized with Switzerland 13 years ago, Austria did not succeed to score more than one point. Worse, it has not crossed a first round of a major tournament since 1982 and the Spanish World Cup.
We have to go back to the sepia images of the 1930s to find the memories of Matthias Sindelar’s “Wunderteam” making Europe tremble, until the semi-finals of the 1934 World Cup. His best result remains third place at the World Cup in Switzerland, in 1954.
Writing history
We can become the first Austrian team to win a Euro match
, recalled the coach, Franco Foda. But the German coach does sen
– .
