Franco Foda has named his final 26-player list for Austria’s Euro 2020 squad, with Das Team set to take part in back-to-back European Championships for the first time in their history.
The newest Real Madrid addition David Alaba, who left Bayern Munich after 13 years, is amongst Austria’s standout performers and will play a prominent role for his side this summer.
Comfortable with playing as a left-back and a central defender, the 28-year-old could also contribute as a defensive midfielder, as he has used to do in some previous matches for the national team.
A significant portion of Austria’s line-up comes from the Bundesliga.
Starting with the backline, all but one of their nine defenders spent the 2020/21 season in Germany’s top-flight, except for the RB Salzburg captain Andreas Ulmer.
Aleksandar Dragovic, part of the Bayer Leverkusen team for five years, left Germany to link up with the reigning Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade earlier this week.
Another vital member of Foda’s defensive set-up is Eintracht Frankfurt’s Martin Hinteregger, who has already amassed over 50 caps for Das Team.
Moving on to the midfield department, Luzern’s Louis Schaub is the only player not to ply his trade in the Bundesliga in 2020/21.
In addition to the captain Julian Baumgartlinger of Leverkusen, Austria’s most trusted midfielder is RB Leipzig’s Marcel Sabitzer.
Known for his exceptional playmaking skills and wide passing range, the 27-year-old will be responsible for creating chances for his forwards.
In the final third, former West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic has made the grade despite spending the last couple of seasons in China with Shanghai Port.
The 32-year-old marksman has tallied over 80 caps for his national team and is expected to be Austria’s main attacking threat.
Unsurprisingly now, Foda’s remaining three forwards are all coming from the Bundesliga, with Mainz 05’s Karim Onisiwo enjoying a remarkable second half of the season.
Austria have been drawn in Group C and will face the Netherlands, North Macedonia and Ukraine at this summer’s tournament.
Given the talent Foda has at his disposal, Das Team have legitimate hopes of making it out of the group stage for the first time in the country’s history.
Austria Euro 2020 Squad
Goalkeepers: Daniel Bachmann (Watford), Pavao Pervan (Wolfsburg), Alexander Schlager (LASK).
Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern), Aleksandar Dragovic (Leverkusen), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen) Martin Hinteregger (Frankfurt), Stefan Lainer (Monchengladbach), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Stefan Posch (Hoffenheim), Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin), Andreas Ulmer (Salzburg).
Midfielders: Julian Baumgartlinger (Leverkusen), Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Stefan Ilsanker (Frankfurt), Konrad Laimer (Leipzig), Valentino Lazaro (Internazionale), Marcel Sabitzer (Leipzig), Louis Schaub (Luzern), Xaver Schlager (Wolfsburg), Alessandro Schopf (Schalke).
Forwards: Marko Arnautovic (Shanghai Port), Michael Gregoritsch (Augsburg), Sasa Kalajdzic (Stuttgart), Karim Onisiwo (Mainz).
Read Next: All Euro 2020 Squads.
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