UEFA EURO 2020 contenders in focus: Austria

EURO pedigree

Previous final tournaments: 2
EURO best: group stage (2008, 2016)

Austria have been pretty successful at FIFA World Cup final tournaments, finishing third in 1954, but are still waiting for a first actual win at a EURO. Their two finals campaigns so far have fizzled out disappointingly, with defeats either side of a matchday two draw. However, Franco Foda's team are looking to break that cycle this time round.

Key players

David Alaba (76 caps, 14 goals)
Playing in a more attacking role than he does for Bayern, Alaba has shown coach Foda his versatility many times; his top-level experience is huge for Austria.

Marko Arnautović (87 caps, 26 goals)
One of Austria's main problems is a lack of efficiency in front of goal. With experienced forward Arnautović on the pitch, this problem is drastically reduced.

Stefan Lainer (21 caps, 1 goal)
A right-back who loves to push upfield, Lainer joined his old Salzburg boss Marco Rose at Mönchengladbach and brings Bundesliga panache to the Austria side.

Memorable EURO goals

• Ivica Vastić's experience told as he hammered a penalty past Poland's Artur Boruc in June 2008, Austria's first EURO goal securing their first EURO point. At 38 years and 257 days, he remains the oldest EURO scorer.

• After a glorious qualifying run, confidence was high for EURO 2016; Austria ultimately fell short of expectations, though Alessandro Schöpf's equaliser in a 2-1 loss to Iceland brought fleeting hope of salvaging a last-16 place.

Memorable moments

• Austria's only point at EURO 2016 came in a 0-0 draw with eventual winners Portugal, goalkeeper Robert Almer putting in the performance of a lifetime to keep Cristiano Ronaldo off the scoresheet.

Stats

Most final tournament appearances
5: Martin Harnik
4: Christian Fuchs, Sebastian Prödl

Most final tournament goals
1: Alessandro Schöpf, Ivica Vastić

Killer stat: Arnautović needs two more goals to match Toni Polster's Austrian record of 15 EURO goals (including qualifiers).

Did you know?

• Austria have not won a game at a major finals since beating the United States 2-1 at the 1990 World Cup.

• The last time Austria got through a finals group stage was at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.