Austria brace for North Macedonia

12: Although scoring goals has been a major issue for Austria at previous European Championships, scoring goals against North Macedonia has been a non-issue in recent years.

The Austrians will open play at Euro 2020 in Group ‘C’ against North Macedonia on Sunday in Bucharest. The two teams met twice in qualifying for the tournament, with Austria winning 4-1 and 21. But goals haven’t come easy on the big stage. In six games played in the 2008 and 2016 editions of the continental tournament, the Austrian team managed only a single goal in open play — in a 2-1 loss to Iceland five years ago.

Heading into Euro 2020, Austria lost to England 1-0 on June 2 and was held to a scoreless draw by Slovakia last Sunday.

Austria defender Alaba, perhaps the team’s best known player, tried to take something positive from the last warm-up game, but the lack of goals was on his mind.

North Macedonia, meanwhile, will be making its debut at a major tournament after qualifying through the Nations League playoffs. But they have had success scoring some goals and pulling off some upsets.

The biggest upset came in March when the team beat Germany 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier.

Earlier this month, North Macedonia drew 1-1 with Slovenia on June 1, with a goal conceded deep into injury time, and routed Kazakhstan 4-0 three days later. North Macedonia’s biggest scoring threat will be Goran Pandev, who made his debut for the national team 20 years ago.

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