MX23RW : Friday, November 8 14:58:17| >> :120:76203:76203:

Franco Foda urges Austria to make history in North Macedonia clash

Franco Foda urges Austria to make history in North Macedonia clash
© Reuters
The Austrians are preparing for their third European Championship campaign but have yet to win a match in the finals.

Austria coach Franco Foda has urged his players to make history in their Euro 2020 opener against tournament debutants North Macedonia.

The Austrians are preparing for their third European Championship campaign but have yet to taste victory in the competition.

They qualified for Euro 2008 as hosts and later travelled to Euro 2016, picking up just a solitary point on each occasion as they exited following the group stages.

German boss Foda, whose players were unable to train at the National Arena in Bucharest on the eve of their Group C opener after heavy rain caused a waterlogged pitch, is targeting a milestone moment followed by a maiden appearance in the knockout rounds.

"I don't feel any pressure; on the contrary, I told everyone, the players, the coaches and staff that we can make history tomorrow," he told a press conference.

"That's our goal: to win our first Euro game and then we can see how things develop and what further goals we can define.

"The atmosphere is very good in the squad, there's a lot of excitement. We've had to wait a year for this because of the pandemic.

"We have set a very clear goal. The group is very evenly balanced, everything is possible. Especially in a Euro like this, anything can happen. We want to do everything we can to reach the knockouts."

North Macedonia are also seeking a maiden Euros victory, albeit in their first outing at the finals.

Austria won home and away against their opponents during qualifying for the tournament but North Macedonia coach Igor Angelovski believes his side will be a tougher proposition on this occasion.

"I think that many things have changed since those two matches, because they were played two years ago," he said.

"And during those two years our national team has grown from one match to the next and played better football, the players have made progress in each match, and this is completely different from the qualifiers."

ID:451145:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect2649:

Click here for more stories about Franco Foda

Click here for more stories about Austria

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Austria's Christoph Baumgartner celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on March 28, 2021
Read Next:
Austria Euro 2020 preview - prediction, fixtures, squad, star player
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!