Croatia vs Austria Nations League line-ups: Where to watch, kick-off time, prediction, form guide
Friday, June 3, 2022
Article summary
When is it? How can you watch it? All you need to know about the UEFA Nations League Group A1 game between Croatia and Austria.
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Croatia and Austria meet in UEFA Nations League Group A1 on Friday 3 June.
Croatia vs Austria at a glance
When: Friday 3 June (20:45 CET kick-off)
Where: Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek
What: UEFA Nations League Group A1 fixture
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage will appear here
Where to watch Croatia vs Austria on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here.
Starting line-ups
Croatia: Ivušić; Juranović, Pongračić, Ćaleta-Car, Sosa; Brozović; Pašalić, Kovačić; Majer, Kramarić, Brekalo
Austria: Lindner; Danso, Trauner, Wöber; Lainer, Laimer, Sabitzer, Schlager, Weimann; Arnautović, Onisiwo
Form guide
Croatia (most recent match first): WDWWDW
Austria (most recent match first): DLWWLW
Expert prediction
Elvir Islamović, match reporter: This opening match is probably the most important for Croatia, a chance to keep the fans onside and make a big step in retaining their League A spot. Zlatko Dalić left the camp after a family bereavement on Tuesday but Luka Modrić has joined the team after Saturday's UEFA Champions League win with Real Madrid, and has already said he wants to play. For Austria it is less about continuation and more fresh starts: new coach Ralf Rangnick will hope to hit the ground running.
What the coaches say
Zlatko Dalić, Croatia coach: "As always, we will go for wins in every game: that is our goal and our desire. We need to focus on Austria and France at home, but Denmark in Copenhagen and France in Paris await us. [Luka] Modrić, [Ivan] Perišić, [Joško] Gvardiol, and [Marcelo] Brozović cannot play all four games: we will see how they feel."
Ralf Rangnick, Austria coach: "We want to play a good game and try to win. We had great energy on and off the pitch [in training]. The guys were all very focused. This squad is a real group, so I'm feeling good about the upcoming games. If we can bring that spirit on to the pitch, coupled with the way we want to play, we have something to look forward to."
What happens after the UEFA Nations League group stage?
The four group winners in League A will advance to the knockout finals with, in principle, one appointed as hosts. The semi-finals will be played on 14 and 15 June 2023 with the final and third-place play-off to follow on 18 June.
The teams finishing fourth in the groups in Leagues A will be relegated to League B for the 2024/25 edition.