Berlin (AFP)
Austrian national team captain Marko Arnautovic said that his third participation in the European Football Cup is “amazing” after two previous disappointing experiences, as his team looks forward to booking a place in the round of 16.
Arnautovic was part of the Austrian squad that limited itself to scoring one goal and obtaining one point in the 2016 edition, before being eliminated from the last round of 16, after the extension against Italy in the tournament that was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Austrian team can occupy one of the first two places in Group D if it wins over the Netherlands, while a draw will guarantee it in principle to be among the top 4 teams in third place and qualify for the next round.
Inter Milan striker Arnautovic said: “When I played my first European Championship, it wasn’t great. The second time there was Covid, so it wasn’t great, but this time it was amazing, a lot of fun.”
He added, “The ideal scenario is to win tomorrow, and after that we will see, but the most important thing is tomorrow’s match.”
Arnautovic came off the bench in the first match, which his country lost 0-1 to France, but he returned and started in the next match, and succeeded in scoring and leading Austria to victory over Poland 3-1 and getting close to qualifying.
The player began his career as a youth player in the Netherlands with Twente FC, and indicated that it would be a special moment for him to face the Orange national team.
The 35-year-old, who counts Dutch as one of the six languages he can speak, said: “It (the Netherlands) was my second home. I went there when I was very young.”
He added, “I learned a lot from the country and from the people there, so yes, it is a special day tomorrow.”
Austria also has the opportunity to finish the group stage in the lead if it wins, and France fails to win the other match against Poland, which is already outside the qualification calculations.
Finishing second place will put them facing the runner-up in Group E, which includes Belgium, Romania, Ukraine and Slovakia.
Austria’s German coach Ralf Rangnick admitted, “I would prefer to finish the race in first place, but we have to win and France does not do that, and both are unlikely to happen.”
He added, “I will accept second place. Third place is very complicated. I looked at the calculations, but I gave up because it is very complicated.”
The first and second placed teams, along with the four best teams that finished third in the six groups, qualify for the round of 16.
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