Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Almaty Central Stadium will host Thursday’s Nations League game between Kazakhstan and Austria. The Kazakhs are eager to put an end to their three-game losing run, but they will have a big fish to fry against Marko Arnautovic and Co. As both Islam Chesnokov and Nuraly Alip are banned for the match, home win should not be considered. The Austrians, on the other hand, aim to build on back-to-back wins over Kazakhstan and Norway.
As Kazakhstan have little to play for in Thursday’s clash, we are tempted to place our bets on Ralph Rangnick’s troops, who crushed Norway 5-1 in their last group game. Real Madrid defender remains on the sidelines with injury, but all Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund), Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich), and aforementioned striker Marko Arnautovic made the cut. It has to be noted that earlier in the process Austria crushed Kazakhstan 4-0.
Highlighted Team (Austria):
Austria is one of Europe’s oldest national football teams and they enjoyed plenty of success during the 1930’s, earning the nickname Wunderteam in the process. Das Team achieved a fourth-place finish at the second World Cup in 1934, before finishing in third place at the 1954 finals. However, Austria have since participated at another five World Cup finals, never getting past the first knockout stage.
Das Team were even more disappointing in the European Championship qualifying campaigns, failing to qualify for 12 straight tournaments before appearing at the 2008 finals as co-hosts. However, Austria made it to the Euro 2016 in style, winning nine of ten qualifiers to suggest the team may be on the path to return to old glory days.
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Andreas Herzog is the team’s most capped footballer with 103 appearances, whereas Toni Polster is the most prolific striker with 44 goals in 95 outings. Matthias Sinderlar, Ernst Ocwirk, Herbert Prohaska and Hans Krankl are some of the most notable players to have represented Austria over the years.