Slovenia vs Austria

Stadion Stozice sets the backdrop for an exciting UEFA Nations League showdown between Slovenia and Austria.

Slovenia drew all three group-stage fixtures at Euro 2024 but still qualified for the knockout stages, only to lose to Portugal on penalties after a goalless stalemate in regulation. Such has been the narrative of their recent Nations League matches, with three of their six outings in the competition’s last iteration ending level (W1, L2). Slovenia manager Matjaz Kek would probably sign up for another draw before the kick-off, considering his 100% loss ratio against Austria (L2). On top of that, the former Yugoslavian republic has lost all three previous matches against the Austrians without a reply. However, this Slovenian side could flip that script after avoiding defeat in regulation across their last ten internationals (W4, D6) since losing to Denmark in November 2023.

In the meantime, Austria displayed spectacular football during the Euro 2024 group stages, beating Poland and the Netherlands en route to their second knockout qualification before Turkey got the better of them 2-1 in the round of 16. Back to League B after a woeful 2022/23 campaign under Ralf Rangnick (W1, D1, L4), Das Team will look to replicate masterful performances from the last time they competed at this level under former boss Franco Foda (W4, D1, L1) and earn promotion back to League A. Austria will pursue a flying start to bolster their chances of taking three points, with their eight previous away matches in the Nations League seeing a team to open the scoring claim the victory (W5, L3).