DFB faces both lightness and shadow in matchup, Rangnick revels in rapid start
Ahead of the European Championship in Germany, the opponents of the German team offer mixed results. While Switzerland won comfortably, Hungary had a strange performance. Ralf Rangnick's Austrians, on the other hand, are content with their progress.
Austria is geared up for the European Championship in Germany, displaying a strong first half performance against Serbia in their penultimate warm-up match. However, they stumbled after that. Nonetheless, Austria appears as a potential underdog at the tournament in the neighboring country.
Patrick Wimmer from VfL Wolfsburg (10th minute) and Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner (13th minute) scored Austrians to a 2:0 lead in the Ernst-Happel Stadium in Vienna. They could have scored another goal. Then, Serbia, bolstered by Bremen defender Milos Veljkovic, found their footing. The equalizer by Strahinja Pavlovic (35th minute) was the best they could manage.
Rangnick had to do without the Dortmund Champions League finalist Marcel Sabitzer. Nicolas Seiwald (RasenBallsport Leipzig), Maximilian Wöber (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Florian Grillitsch (TSG Hoffenheim), Romano Schmid (Werder Bremen) and the two goalscorers, still featured six Bundesliga pros in the starting lineup.
After dominating victories against Germany in November (2:0) and over Turkey in March (6:1), the Austrians have one more warm-up match before the tournament, this time against Switzerland on Saturday (6 p.m./DAZN). Austria faces a challenging group D where the vice-world champion France (17th June), Poland (21st June), and the Netherlands (25th June) await. Serbia, who will go up against England (16th June), Slovenia (20th June), and Denmark in Group C, have a warm-up game against Sweden.
Switzerland and Hungary prepare with varying successes
The Switzerland team, Germany's group opponents, showed a convincing victory ten days before the start of the tournament. The Swiss team, with many Bundesliga players, led by national coach Murat Yakin, won 4:0 (1:0) against Estonia in Lucerne. Steven Zuber's fantastic goal in the corner put the Swiss up (20th minute), and Zeki Amdouni (47th minute), the Gladbach defender Nico Elvedi (63rd minute), and former Munich player Xherdan Shaqiri (70th minute, penalty kick) scored in the second half. Elvedi, Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen), and Widmer (FSV Mainz 05) from the Bundesliga featured in the starting lineup.
The German team plays Switzerland in their final group match (23rd June) in Frankfurt. Germany's first opponent is Scotland on the 14th June in Munich, and the second is Hungary on the 19th June in Stuttgart.
Hungary faced a setback as Ireland won their first loss since September 2022 with a 1:2 (1:1) win. Adam Lang (40) equalized after Adam Idah's (36) initial goal for Ireland, but Troy Parrott (90.+2) scored late on to secure the victory for the Irish team. Five German professionals started for Hungary, among them Freiburg's Roland Sallai, Hertha defender Marton Dardai, Union Berlin's Andras Schäfer, and Leipzig's Willi Orban and Péter Gulácsi. Hungary's final test match before the EM is on Saturday in Debrecen against Israel.
Italy, the current European champions, have been struggling for form, two weeks before their mission to defend their title at the European Championship in Germany. In their penultimate warm-up match on Tuesday in Bologna against fellow participants Turkey, the Azzurri only managed a goalless draw. Although they remain undefeated in the current calendar year after two wins in the spring, their performance left much to be desired. The Turks, with Hoffenheim Bundesliga player Ozan Kabak in their starting lineup and Nuremberg second-league player Can Uzun on the bench, have been winless in four games since their 3:2 victory against the German national team last year.
Italy plans to test their form for the EM against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday. Turkey checks their form the following day, in a match between two European Championship starters. Kabak was taken off in the first half with a suspected serious knee injury after a tackle, and might miss the tournament in Germany.
Italy's group stage matches at the European Championship include Albania (15th June), Spain (20th June), and Croatia (24th June). Turkey's group stage matches start on the 18th June against Georgia, followed by games against former champions Portugal (22nd June) and the Czech Republic (26th June).
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Austria, as a potential underdog in the European Football Championship 2024 group D, will face tough opponents such as France, Poland, and the Netherlands. Ralf Rangnick's Austrian team, despite stumbling after a strong first half against Serbia, will aim to make an impact in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Switzerland, Germany's group opponents in the European Championship, showed a convincing 4-0 victory over Estonia, with many Bundesliga players in their starting lineup. Switzerland and Hungary, both group stage participants, will bring varying successes to the tournament, with Switzerland preparing confidently and Hungary facing a setback before their final test match against Israel.
