Analysis and prediction for Austria vs Romania: A breathtaking chase.
The World Cup qualifying match between Austria and Romania will take place at 1:45 AM on June 8th. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes the teams' form, provides football commentary, and predicts the score.
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Latest information on the Austria vs Romania match lineups.
Austria captain David Alaba is still recovering from a meniscus injury and will be absent. In addition, two players who started in the last match are also unavailable.
Goalkeeper Alexander Schlager has a wrist injury, while defender Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord) is suspended after receiving a red card in the match against Serbia and will not be available for Saturday.
Good news for manager Rangnick – who has called up several players who have never been called up to the national team before, such as Tobias Lawal and Nicolas Schmid – central midfielder Xaver Schlager has recovered from his thigh injury and is ready to return.
In attack, Michael Gregoritsch is more likely to be chosen to start than veteran Marko Arnautovic.
For Romania, striker Denis Dragus remains the first-choice option in attack.
Two stars playing in England – Radu Dragusin and Ianis Hagi – are both absent: Dragusin is still injured and Hagi has just been given permission to withdraw by Rangers. However, winger Valentin Mihaila (Parma) has returned after missing the March training camp due to injury.
Captain Nicolae Stanciu – who recently agreed to rejoin Dragusin's former club Genoa – is expected to start in the three-man midfield. Coach Mircea Lucescu still prefers the 4-3-3 formation.
Latest predicted lineup for Austria vs Romania
Shirt:Pentz; Posch, Danso, Lienhart, Mwene; Seiwald, Grillitsch; R. Schmid, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautovic
Romania:Nita; Ratiu, Popescu, Burca, Bancu; R. Marin, M. Marin, Stanciu; Man, Dragus, Coman
Latest football match prediction: Austria vs Romania
After finishing second in their most recent UEFA Nations League group, Austria had a chance to join the top European teams through a spring play-off against Serbia, but ultimately lost 1-3.
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Undefeated at home in the group stage – with emphatic wins against Norway and Kazakhstan, and a draw with Slovenia – the Austrian team drew 1-1 at the Ernst-Happel Stadium before losing 0-2 in the return leg in Belgrade.
Despite remaining in League B of UEFA's latest international competition, coach Ralf Rangnick's top priority remains securing a place in the upcoming World Cup.
Since reaching the 1998 World Cup finals in France, Austria has not participated again, so the pressure is mounting on the experienced coach to end that drought.
Rangnick's start has been quite impressive, and there have been positive signs at Euro 2024 as well, but currently the Austrian team is six points behind Group H leaders Bosnia-Herzegovina – and three points behind their upcoming opponent, Romania.
Romania has met Austria twice in World Cup qualifiers, only managing to secure one point on their way to South Africa 2010. The most recent encounters between the two teams were in the UEFA Nations League nearly five years ago, when Romania won 3-2 away in Vienna but subsequently lost 0-1 at home.
After a disappointing start to this World Cup qualifying campaign, Romania cannot afford to drop any more points if they want to compete for the top spot – the only position that guarantees direct qualification to the finals. The second-placed teams will have to enter the risky play-off round.
Despite impressing at the Euros and then winning six consecutive matches in the Nations League, coach Mircea Lucescu's team surprisingly lost to Bosnia at home in their opening match, before crushing the weaker San Marino team 5-1 in Serravalle.
Romania is therefore in a chasing position, on its quest for its first World Cup spot in the 21st century, and allowing Austria to equalize on points could be a disastrous setback.
If they can get a point in Saturday's match, before beating Cyprus at home, it would be a fantastic birthday present for coach Lucescu – who will turn 80 next month.
Latest Austria vs Romania score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Austria vs Romaniaas follows:
- Sportsmole:Austria 2-1 Romania
- WhoScore:Austria 2-0 Romania
- Our newspaper predicts:Austria 2-1 Romania
When and where can I watch the Austria vs Romania match live?
To watch the Austria vs Romania match live in the World Cup qualifiers at 1:45 AM on June 8th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.