Nations League: Foda achieves its fifth consecutive victory

The conditions for the fifth consecutive international victory and the fifth victory over Northern Ireland do not appear to be bad. While Austrians like David Alaba, Marcel Sabitzer, Stefan Lainer and Xaver Schlager are back at his disposal, the number 41 in the FIFA rankings is likely to be physically and mentally drained from his performance on Thursday: defeat at home. in the play-off of the European Championship. on penalties against Slovakia was one of Northern Ireland’s bitterest bankruptcies in recent years.

However, Foda expects strong resistance. “They lost to Slovakia unfortunately and they are a very robust team with a good mentality.” Under German rule, the ÖFB team has won three games against Northern Ireland in the past two years, including a 1-0 victory last October in Belfast. “We played very well, especially in the first half, and we won deservedly,” Foda recalled.

Full confidence in all the players on the team

In the 3-0 test match in Luxembourg on Wednesday, the ÖFB coach relied on the rotation and gave many second-row players a chance. However, he did not send a B-team to the field in the Grand Duchy, Foda emphasized. “There is discussion about team A, B or C in the media, but not here. For me there is only one team, one team. Everyone who is there has my absolute confidence. “

This also applies to Marko Arnautovic, who landed in Vienna on Saturday and could at least be used as a “joker” against the Northern Irish. “We don’t have to talk much about his qualities. He is an important part of the team, ”Foda said. The 54-year-old had a long talk with Arnautovic on Saturday night. According to Fodas, the Chinese legionnaire recently had to deal with minor complaints, which is why he initially sat on the bench in the last league match at Shanghai SIPG.

The team boss can probably call on all the team players in Vienna on Sunday, only Christopher Trimmel is questionable due to slight muscle problems. Christoph Baumgartner, on the other hand, is out of the question for the Northern Ireland party because he is under quarantine in Hoffenheim due to numerous positive coronavirus tests. Foda still hopes the youngster will arrive in time for Norway’s match at the ÖFB camp.

Baumgartner is one of seven players on the team to receive a yellow card this Nations League season. Alaba, Lainer, Aleksandar Dragovic, Martin Hinteregger, Xaver Schlager and Michael Gregoritsch share the same fate and would therefore be excluded from the duel with Norway in the event of a warning against Northern Ireland. He will “sensitize” concerned kickers to this issue again before kickoff, Foda announced. “But we have to play fair and aggressive in duels.”

Gregoritsch sees competition in attack as positive

In the seven international matches since Marko Arnautovic last appeared on the national team, a lot has happened in the ÖFB attack. Adrian Grbic and Sasa Kalajdzic were new to the team, Gregoritsch established himself in the absence of the Chinese legionnaire not only because of his Nations League goals against Norway and Northern Ireland as a forward.

Even if this rank could be lost again soon, Gregoritsch is happy for Arnautovic’s return. “He is very important because he leads the team and is a leader. It has incredible power and can give us a completely different quality. “

The dependency on Arnautovic is no longer as great as in the past, Gregoritsch emphasized. With Kalajdzic, a tall attacker was added who showed precision in the German Bundesliga. Grbic, in turn, scored two goals in his five international matches. “The competition is always good. We have shown in recent years that we can intervene when Marko is not there, ”explained Gregoritsch.