Austria book UEFA EURO 2016 place
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Article summary
Austria became the fourth nation to qualify for the finals after their 4-1 defeat of Sweden, David Alaba telling UEFA.com that achieving the feat is a "dream come true".
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Austria are the latest team to confirm their place at UEFA EURO 2016 after an eye-catching 4-1 victory in Sweden that wrapped up qualifying Group G in their favour with two games to spare.
Marcel Koller's impressive side inflicted Sweden's joint-biggest competitive home loss and can approach their last two fixtures with the pressure off, safe in the knowledge their berth in the 12 December draw is secure.
This represents the first time Austria have successfully gone through qualifying for a UEFA European Championship finals – because when they competed in the 2008 edition, they did so as co-hosts alongside Switzerland.
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David Alaba, Austria midfielder
It's a dream come true for all of us. We've reached our goal and will go to France for the EUROs, so we're all happy. We have a great team spirit and off the pitch we're like a family and all together. It's not easy to play in Sweden, so an early goal is always important. We want to learn more and take some steps forward in order to play well in France.
Key stats
Best result: group stage 2008
Coach: Marcel Koller
Leading scorers: all-time – Toni Polster (44); current – Marc Janko (21)
Most appearances: all-time – Andreas Herzog (103); current – Andreas Ivanschitz (69)
Record EURO appearances
Overall: Bruno Pezzey (21)
Final tournament: 9 players have appeared in 3 matches
Record EURO goals
Overall: Toni Polster (15)
Final tournament: Ivica Vastic (1)