Austrians banking on claiming historic win

AUSTRIA coach Franco Foda has urged his players to make history in their Euro 2020 opener against tournament debutants North Macedonia in Bucharest.

The Austrians are preparing for their third European Championship campaign — but have yet to win a game in the competition.

They qualified for Euro 2008 as hosts and later travelled to Euro 2016, picking up just a solitary point on each occasion as they exited following the group stages.

Foda, whose players were unable to train at the National Arena in the Romanian capital on the eve of their Group C opener after heavy rain caused a waterlogged pitch, is targeting a maiden appearance in the knockout rounds.

‘I don’t feel any pressure; on the contrary, I told everyone, the players, the coaches and staff that we can make history tomorrow,’ he said. ‘That’s our goal: to win our first Euro game and then we can see how things develop.

‘The atmosphere is very good in the squad, a lot of excitement. We’ve had to wait a year for this because of the pandemic.

‘We have set a very clear goal. The group is evenly balanced, everything is possible. We want to do everything we can to reach the knockouts.’

North Macedonia are also seeking a first Euros victory, albeit in their first outing at the finals. Austria beat them home and away during qualifying but North Macedonia coach Igor Angelovski believes his side will be a tougher proposition this time.

‘Many things have changed since those two matches against the Austrians, because they were played two years ago,’ he said.

‘And during that time our team has grown from one match to the next and played better football. The players have made progress in each match, and this is completely different from the qualifiers.’