Nations League: Austria wants to improve its balance sheet
League of Nations
On paper, Austria’s national football team will go into the game against France on Thursday (8.45 p.m., live on ORF1) in the Stade de France as a blatant outsider. The record with the world champion is nine wins, three draws and twelve defeats. The fact that the yield does not look completely bleak is mainly due to the positive performance in the distant past. The ÖFB selection is encouraged by the 1-1 draw in the first leg in Vienna and the personnel worries at “Les Bleus” before the 25th duel.
Compared to today, the signs before the first duels with France were significantly different. From 1925 to 1937 the first five duels with France went to Austria. The Austrians also won their first meeting after the Second World War in December 1945 in Vienna, 4-1. The “Equipe Tricolore” celebrated their first win against the ÖFB selection in Paris the following May with a 3:1.
Most recently, in June, there was a 1-1 win at the Happel Stadium thanks to a strong performance, with superstar Kylian Mbappe France only saving the draw in the 83rd minute. In September 2008, in the Prater, the last success so far was achieved in the European Championship qualification with a 3:1. In the six games before that, there had only been one draw in five defeats. There have been bitter defeats against France, such as the 1-0 defeat in the second round of the 1982 World Cup and the defeats in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup (0-1 home, 0-2 away).
Alaba debut at the Stade de France
On the other hand, David Alaba is looking forward to the game in a particularly positive way. At the age of 17 years and 112 days, the now 30-year-old came on as a substitute in the 80th minute of the European Championship qualifier in the 1:3 defeat against France in the Stade de France on October 14, 2009 and celebrated his debut in the ÖFB-A- Team. In the same stadium, the Viennese won the Champions League with Real Madrid last May.
Alaba’s club colleague Karim Benzema is missing, as is Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot (both Juventus), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Kingsley Coman, Lucas Hernandez (both FC Bayern), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan) and Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint Germain). Despite the absence of these quality players, the French still have excellent quality in every part of the team.
World champion before World Cup with catching up to do
It is precisely this squad density that makes the defending champion one of the top contenders for winning the World Cup trophy. Before the finals in Qatar in November, the French still have room for improvement, as a look at the four previous games in this Nations League edition shows. The current champion of this competition is at the end of the table in Group A with only two and therefore has no chance of winning the new competition again.
If the squad of team boss Didier Deschamps, who has been in office since 2012, can’t get away from last place in the last two games, they would only be second-rate in the next Nations League edition. In the event of an Austrian victory, the “Bleus” would even be in League B before the last game on Sunday in Denmark.