Thursday, February 8, 2024, 6:03 p.m
Paris – The Austrian national soccer team will face, among others, star striker Erling Haaland and Norway in the group phase of the Nations League in the fall. The other group opponents in Pool 3 of the second highest League B are Slovenia and Kazakhstan. This was the result of the draw on Thursday evening in Paris. If Ralf Rangnick’s ÖFB team wins its group, it will return to League A. The runners-up in the group fight for promotion in play-offs.
The Austrians play two games each in September, October and November. UEFA plans to announce the exact schedule on Friday. Norway and Slovenia seem to be the toughest opponents in the fight for group victory. The Norwegians are 44th in the world rankings, twenty positions behind Austria. The Slovenians are in 54th place, the Kazakhs, as newcomers from League C, are in 100th position.
The Austrians had already dueled with Norway at the second Nations League event in 2020. Back then, Haaland was only involved in the first duel in Oslo, which the ÖFB team won 2-1. Red-White-Red under team boss Franco Foda won the group in the final duel in Vienna with a 1-1 draw against a Norwegian team. The Scandinavians were missing almost all players with international experience due to Corona quarantine rules.
In addition to Haaland, the Norwegians now have other players of stature, such as his Manchester City colleague Oscar Bobb and Dortmund defender Julian Ryerson. In addition to goalkeeper Jan Oblak, Benjamin Sesko, a former Salzburg striker like Haaland, is the star for Slovenia. There have only been four international duels with their southern neighbor so far, the ÖFB team won the two most recent ones in the European Championship qualification in 2019 1-0.
The Austrians are still unbeaten in four matches against the Kazakhs, but away from home they only drew 0-0. Rangnick and Co. are also planning a long trip to the former Soviet republic in the fall. The bottom of the group is relegated to League C, the third in the group has to fight in a play-off against a runner-up from League C to stay in the second highest class. If Austria comes second, the opponent in the promotion play-off in March 2025 would be a third party from League A.
Rangnick and his team were relegated from League A with four points in the most recent Nations League edition in 2022 in a group with Croatia, Denmark and the then world champion France. The ÖFB’s declared goal is to return to the top division. In addition, a group win via the back door should also bring a ticket for the play-off for the last four European starting places for the 2026 World Cup in North America, if this is not achieved in 2025 via the normal World Cup qualification route. (WHAT)
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