From 55 to 13 – in UEFA, a total of 55 national teams are fighting for the 13 tickets for the World Cup in Qatar, which starts in November 2022. Only the ten group winners will definitely get a ticket for the big event. A successful start is therefore desirable and the journey to Qatar begins with an away match for the ÖFB eleven. On Thursday, Scotland and Austria will face each other at Hampden Park.
For a long time there was a big question mark over the venue and the players available. Scotland offered the ÖFB a swap of the home ground, but the Austrian delegation refused. The hope of being able to count on spectators for the return match remains.
After the Germany legionnaires were allowed to travel to Scotland after all, Franco Foda can almost draw from the full range for the start of the World Cup qualifiers. According to the best bookmakers, the ÖFB team is the clear favourite in the match between Scotland and Austria. The match kicks off at 20:45 on Thursday.
Prediction & Live Odds for Scotland vs. Austria 25/03/2021
The World Cup qualifying Group F is likely to be an extremely even affair and with Denmark, Israel and these two teams, four teams have set their sights on winning the group and the World Cup ticket that goes with it. The direct duels are particularly important in this respect and an opening win would be worth its weight in gold. For a home win for Scotland against Austria, odds of up to 3.35 can be found
Even though Scottish football is definitely on the rise, the role of the guests as favorites is quite understandable. Austria certainly has more footballing quality across the board. The Scots will counter with a lot of fight and passion, but as the match progresses, the chances are good that quality will prevail, and will be bet on the visitors of Austria (2 DNB).
Scotland – Statistics & Current Form
With four defeats from his first five international matches, the tenure of Steve Clarke, now 57, got off to a far from satisfactory start in the second half of 2019. However, the clearly negative record has long been history, with Clarke now averaging a very strong 1.75 points per game in 16 international matches (nine wins, one draw, six defeats).
Scotland on the up
Scottish football is definitely on the up and proved its nerve last autumn. The diversions through the Nations League play-offs offered the chance of a European Championship ticket. Scotland came out on top in penalty shootouts against both Israel and Serbia and secured their third European Championship participation in the history of the association.
In total, Scotland will be represented at the upcoming European Championship for the tenth time at a major event, but so far the Bravehearts have never made it past the group stage. England, Croatia and the Czech Republic pose a major challenge for the Clarke team in the summer of 2021.
Nations League group win missed by a whisker
The intense game against the Serbs and the celebrations seem to have taken too much energy, as Scotland were beaten 1-0 by both Slovakia and Israel (this time in the Nations League) to close out last year.
Ten points from six games meant second place in the final standings behind the Czech Republic. They missed out on promotion to the Nations League A by a narrow margin. In each of the last six international matches, bets on a score of under 2.5 were crowned with success. The Wettbasis odds comparison provides odds of around 1.65 on Scotland vs. Austria for this prediction.
In Steve Clarke’s squad, Andrew Robertson and Scott McTominay stand out in particular. With debutant Che Adams (has Scottish ancestors), Kieran Tierney, John McGinn or Ryan Fraser, there are many other well-known England legionnaires for the Scots.
Predicted Scotland line-up:
McLaughlin – Tierney, Hanley, McKenna, Palmer – McTominay, McGinn – Robertson, Fleck, Fraser – Adams
Austria – Statistics & Current Form
The composition of the Austrian national team squad was a back and forth affair. In the meantime, no fewer than 43 players were nominated. After the entry regulations for the German professionals were relaxed, Franco Foda had to turn down the dream of the “team” for some players.
First World Cup participation since 1998?
A newly assembled team would certainly not have been ideal in the fight for the World Cup ticket. Austria was last represented at a World Cup in 1998 – in France. This long wait should come to an end and possibly the opener in Scotland is a very good omen.
In the course of qualifying for the 1998 finals, Austria also started the qualifying campaign with an away game in Scotland. At that time, the match ended goalless. Odds of around 3.40 are offered for a draw between Scotland and Austria.
Foda can almost draw from the full squad
Instead of improvising a lot, Franco Foda can now fall back on his proven core. Only China-legionnaire Marko Arnautovic, striker Adrian Grbic and the injured players Martin Hinteregger and Stefan Posch are not available. The latter two, however, will be an issue again for the two further qualifying matches.
The loss of this quartet certainly hurts, but in the meantime Austria has an enormous breadth to show. The in-form Philipp Lienhart will probably start alongside Dragovic in central defence. Up front, the strong header Sasa Kalajdzic is the clear number one and should provide danger with his physical presence.
Austria’s alignment will not change in 2021 – the focus will be on a solid defence and only as the game progresses are more offensive actions to be expected from the ÖFB team. Therefore, the prediction of a goalless first half for Scotland against Austria is a good one. Especially since both teams know the importance of this match and want to keep the risk low.
Predicted line-up of Austria:
Schlager – Ulmer, Dragovic, Lienhart, Lainer – Alaba, Schlager, Grillitsch, Lazaro – Kalajdzic, Baumgartner
