Austria vs Serbia

Ernst Happel Stadion sets the stage for the first encounter between Austria and Serbia as the two sides continue their preparations for Euro 2024.

Ralf Rangnick’s appointment as the chief of staff after missing out on the 2022 World Cup qualification has proved a massive coup for Austria. Under the veteran’s stewardship, they’ve secured a third consecutive European Championship appearance as qualifying Group F runners-up behind Belgium (W6, D1, L1). Rangnick has inspired ‘Das Team’ to a morale-boosting five-game winning streak across the past six months, with the Austrians netting 13 goals and conceding just one during that sequence. Austria’s final warm-up home fixture for Euro 2024 promises to be a spectacle for the local crowd, as Rangnick’s men have claimed four wins in their last five outings at this venue, barring a goal-glutted 3-2 defeat to Belgium during the qualifying campaign.

In the meantime, Serbia had to settle for a second-place finish in Euro 2024 qualifying Group G behind Hungary (W4, D2, L2) but will, nonetheless, appear at the tournament for the first time as an independent nation. However, the visitors’ preparations for the upcoming event have been off to a dreadful start. After a disastrous 4-0 defeat at Russia, they squeaked past continental minnows Cyprus 1-0, suggesting head coach Dragan Stojkovic has plenty of issues to address before the Euro 2024 kick-off. Establishing any form of consistency is his first assignment after Serbia’s last nine internationals fluctuated between different outcomes (W3, D3, L3). The Eagles’ recent form in exhibition matches reads indifferently (W4, L3), indicating this contest could go both ways.