Austria disappointed in their tournament opener, losing to unheralded Hungary 2-0. They get a much stiffer test this time around, taking on Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team in a do-or-die match. Portugal won’t be relaxing any time soon; they’ll need a victory in this match after a 1-1 draw against Iceland in their opener.
Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by tournament debutants Iceland on Tuesday, leaving them very hungry to get the full three points this time around against Austria. Manager Fernando Santos’ side believes that Austria’s loss could give the Portuguese a slim advantage, especially since the Austrians still have some good players, and won nine matches in qualifying.
Austria may be tough, but Seleccao das Quinas should still have the advantage with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the charge. The three-time Ballon d’Or winner has 58 international goals in 127 career caps. However, it wasn’t the Real Madrid star who scored in the tournament opener against Iceland. Instead, Nani netted the first score of the match on an assist from Andre Gomes.
Portugal are in excellent form, going 4-1-1 in their last six matches.
Austria were embarrassed 2-0 by unheralded Hungary in their Euro 2016 opener. They’ll take an even bigger hit with center back Alexander Dragovic suspended after being awarded a red card in Tuesday’s loss. Replacing him will be 23-year-old Kevin Wimmer, who may suddenly have a target on his back from a Portugal side featuring one of the best scorers in the world.
The Wunderteam were lackluster in their opening fixture, but they won’t let themselves be pushovers heading into this match. The Austrians still have star striker Marc Janko, who had seven goals in nine qualifying matches. He was also hot in club competition, scoring 16 in 20 matches for Swiss champions Basel this past season.
Meanwhile, Austria also have a solid midfielder David Alaba, who could keep tabs on Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
But as solid as they should be, Austria are not in very good form having lost their last two matches where they were outscored 4-0.
Writer’s Prediction
Portugal (-140) hand Austria a second straight loss to start Euro 2016.
