UEFA Euro 2024 will take place next summer and the road to qualifying for that tournament continues this week with the latest international break. As clubs across the continent hit the pause button on their domestic leagues, plenty of countries will be hoping to edge closer to the finals. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be a fun encounter between Austria and Belgium.
Austria Form GuideThey’ve always been a dangerous kind of opponent, but Austria haven’t quite been able to get over the hump and become a consistent force. The likes of David Alaba have always pushed hard for them to get to that next level but for now, they’re just a ‘middle of the road’ team in Europe, always striving to prove they can get out of the shadow of some of their neighbours.
After defeating Azerbaijan and Estonia, Austria were held to a 1-1 draw by Belgium. They did, however, rebound in consecutive games against Sweden, both of which they won to position themselves nicely for qualification.
Belgium Form GuideBelgium’s golden generation is slowly devolving and, in reality, they only have one (or two) tournaments left with their current crop of players. There aren’t really any more excuses that can be thrown in their direction and after messing up in a big way at the World Cup, they have to rebound - and they need some of their big names to be the ones who drag them through this mess.
The Red Devils beat Sweden back in March before a draw with Austria and a nice 3-0 win over Estonia in June. Then, last month, they made hard work of a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan before tearing through Estonia with an emphatic 5-0 battering.
Match PredictionIn a tussle between two genuinely impressive teams, and we really think they’re going to go for it. Austria will have a point to prove whereas Belgium will want to showcase that they can still get it done on the big stage. When push comes to shove, our instinct is that over 2.5 goals will be scored.
