Austria vs France Preview

Austria will begin their 2024 European Championship campaign with one of the toughest slots available as they face 2016 Euro finalists and 2018 and 2022 World Cup finalists France at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.

Austria is playing at their fourth European Championship and third consecutive one. In the last edition, they were eliminated by eventual champions Italy at the first knockout round.

This year, they have been placed in one of the tournaments ‘Group of Death’ alongside France, the Netherlands and Poland, so it will be a miracle if they progress beyond this group.

Yet Ralf Ragnick’s men have proven they can punch above their weight considering that they finished second in their qualifying group, just one point behind Belgium after losing only once in eight games (W6, D1). They should enter the European Championships with confidence as they’re unbeaten in seven matches (W6, D1), which includes a friendly win over Germany (2-0).

However, Austria have a poor record against the French, winning just one of the last ten meetings (D2, L7). But one thing they’d like to repeat is winning their European Championships opener, which they did for the first time in 2021 (W 3-1 v North Macedonia) after two previous group-opening defeats ‘to nil’.

France remains arguably the strongest team in Europe after their exploits in the last two World Cups. But they haven’t enjoyed an ideal build-up as they followed up friendly wins over Chile and Luxembourg with a frustrating goalless draw against Canada. Since arriving in Germany, a virus has swept through their camp with captain Kylian Mbappé and manager Didier Deschamps among those affected and sitting out training.

However, if any side has the talent and resources to deal with such a setback, then it is Les Bleus, who have been beaten just twice (by Germany) since they lost the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina on penalties. Didier Deschamps’ men breezed through qualifying by dropping only two points (W7, D1). They should fancy their chances of starting this tournament with a win, having never lost their first group game at the European Championships (W6, D3), opening both of their title-winning campaigns with a victory ‘to nil’.