Austrian quality clear to see

Austria may be the surprise team of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship but according to coach Paul Gludovatz they should be considered anything but underdogs.

'Strong mentally'
Austria emerged from the group stage as winners of their section, after victories over England and the Czech Republic and a draw with France. Ahead of Wednesday's semi-final against Portugal, Gludovatz underlined the qualities of his team. "I knew that our team was strong mentally and also technically and tactically they have proved they are very good," he said.

Tactical flexibility
"The technical discipline on the field is very good, in the defence and offence. If one of the first XI is unavailable for one match there is a player in each position to replace him at the same level." There is also a degree of tactical flexibility. "We either play 4-1-4-1 or we play 4-2-3-1," he said. "The most important thing is the flat back four but it is very flexible system for us."

No shortage of leaders
Austria's team also boasts considerable experience. Five of the players have been involved in Under-21 squads, with both Eintracht Frankfurt defender Markus Berger - suspended for the semi-final - and SK Rapid Wien forward Roman Kienast having won caps. There is no shortage of leaders in the team either and Gludovatz has entrusted the captain's armband to three players already in the tournament.

Three captains used
"In the first match we had Markus Berger, in the second match we had Pascal Velek, a very young player from [FK] Austria Wien, and in the third match Martin Lassnig a central defender from LASK [Linz]. He would also have been in the Under-21s recently but was injured," he said. Other players to have impressed for the Austrians are midfield players Salmin Cehajic and Jürgen Säumel.

Nothing to fear
As for their opponents on Wednesday in Vaduz, Gludovatz said: "I have seen about 60 minutes of the Portugal-Italy match and Portual play very fast technical football." Still he stressed his players had nothing to fear. They beat Serbia and Montenegro in the qualifying round and have also beaten Belgium and Germany this year. "Portugal also have a difficult situation going into the match," the coach said. "Why not? We have more points from the group stage."