Austria vs Scotland
Scotland’s World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign is at a crucial point as it reaches the halfway stage.
The Scots are set to face off with struggling Austria, and victory in Vienna – coupled with an Israel defeat at Denmark – would see Scotland jump up to second in Group F.
The Austrians are coming off a humiliating 5-2 defeat to Israel in Haifa and will be desperate to bounce back at home.
The first meeting between these two teams saw quite an entertaining draw in Glasgow. And the World Cup 2022 odds for this reverse fixture figure to be quite close once again as these two countries continue to battle for a spot in Qatar.
Talking Points
Austria defence still in disarray
Austria suffered a significant setback to their World Cup qualifying dreams as they were thumped 5-2 away to Israel.
The Austrians were completely caught out by the hosts, who were 3-0 up in just over half an hour. Austria finished with 19 shots (seven on target) as they tried to chase the game, but to no avail. The loss leaves them down in fourth in the standings, one point behind Scotland.
Austria’s defence – led by Real Madrid star David Alaba – during this qualifying campaign has been an absolute shambles, which has been a factor in their subpar World Cup 2022 results. They have conceded 12 goals in their five games and have given up four or more goals twice. The first of those came in their 4-0 humiliation at home against Denmark.
Coach Franco Foda is without a number of high-profile players in captain Julian Baumgarlinger, new Bayern Munich recruit Marcel Sabitzer, and striker Sasa Kalajdzic, who was surprisingly not picked for this round of qualifiers. Those absentees will limit Foda’s options to change his line-up against Scotland.
But on the bright side, Austria have two in-form strikers in Marko Arnautovic and Christoph Baumgartner. The two have scored in each of their last two qualifiers.
Baumgartner is now tied with Kalajdzic for the team lead with three goals in qualifying and has four goals in 11 appearances for his country in 2021. Meanwhile, Arnautovic is up to 29 goals in his international career, which is tied for third in the country’s history.
Scotland’s qualification hopes still alive
Scotland bounced back from their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Denmark by beating Moldova 1-0 at home. Lyndon Dykes’ 14-minute strike was enough to give the hosts all three points – and keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
Unsurprisingly, Scotland dominated statistically at home against the bottom club in the group. They finished with 54 per cent of possession and a 16-6 edge in shots (7-1 in terms of shots on target).
They should have won by a more comfortable margin but stars Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson, and Billy Gilmour all squandered some good chances in front of goal.
Scotland coach Steve Clark shuffled his side up from the Denmark match; Nathan Patterson, John McGinn, and Kevin Nisbet all returned after completing their quarantine, while youngsters Jack Hendry and Billy Gilmour were also given starts.
Despite wasting a great chance to score his first career international goal in the second half, Gilmour played well overall and likely earned himself another start in midfield.
Scoring goals continues to be Scotland’s big problem area, though. Their five forwards in the squad have a combined 14 goals in 76 caps.
Dykes, who scored his third goal in 17 caps, has likely done enough to keep his starting spot for another game. But it remains to be seen whom Clarke will choose to partner him up front.
History
Scotland and Austria have been quite evenly matched historically. The Austrians hold a slight 8-6 advantage in terms of wins, while there have also been seven draws.
However, Scotland have had the upper hand for the past few decades. They have lost just once in their last eight meetings against Austria, with three wins and four draws.
That includes their first meeting in World Cup qualifying in Glasgow back in March. Scotland battled hard and came from behind twice to draw 2-2. Sasa Kalajdzic scored both of Austria’s goals, while Grant Hanley and John McGinn got the equalisers for the Scots.
Moreover, Scotland are unbeaten in each of their last four visits to Austria, with two wins and two draws.
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