Will the national team play again in Linz on September 7th?

The chances are not bad that Austria’s national team will also play a test match in the new Raiffeisen Arena at the beginning of September after the current doubles of the European Championship qualification against Azerbaijan and Estonia. Opponent is likely to be the Republic of Moldova. According to APA information, the end of the year should be against Germany on November 21 in Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium.

Bernhard Neuhold did not want to finally confirm this program. “We have the plan to bring a top European nation to Vienna in November,” said the managing director of ÖFB Wirtschaftsbetriebe GmbH to the APA – Austria Press Agency. “At the moment detailed talks are still going on.” Last year, the Austrians defeated European champions Italy 2-0 in a friendly in Vienna in the last international match of the year.

Test against Germany?

The next European Championship qualifying games are in June in Brussels against Belgium (17th) and in Vienna against Sweden (20th). According to Neuhold, in preparation for the following guest appearance on September 12th in Sweden, it was the explicit wish of team boss Ralf Rangnick not to test against an overly strong opponent. It’s supposed to be a “rehearsal gallop” in which Rangnick can also mix up the team a bit. As an opponent, the ÖFB Moldau, 2021 also has opponents in the World Cup qualification in their sights.

The planned game date is September 7th, the location is open. “There is a high probability that we will play in Linz,” said Neuhold. But you want to wait and see the experiences from the two opening games of the year before making a final decision. The team camp in September will definitely take place again in Windischgarsten in Upper Austria. The association has already made a commitment to this, as well as to preparing for the Belgium game in June.

The home game against Belgium on October 13 will most likely take place in Vienna. The ÖFB must finally name the stadium in June. “It’s the sixth of eight qualifying games, it could be a real EURO final,” said Neuhold. “It could be realistic that we fill the Happel Stadium and create a good atmosphere there.”

Game not off the table at the Allianz Stadium yet

The unique selling point of the country’s largest stadium remains its capacity of 48,500 spectators. Half full, there is little mood in the spacious Happel oval. For the home game against Sweden, the ÖFB had therefore also held talks with Rapid. Despite a cancellation due to necessary lawn care measures, which had already been done in Salzburg, they want to continue to talk about a possible use of the Allianz Stadium (24,000 seats).

“If we also had the Rapid and Salzburg stadiums available, that would be a significant expansion of our options,” said Neuhold. Ultimately, however, it is up to the clubs that own the stadiums. In Salzburg, for example, intensive use of the lawn is a constant theme. Neuhold is therefore not assuming that there will be an international match in the Red Bull Arena in 2023.

Klagenfurt difficult to fill

Klagenfurt would have a similar size (30,000) but is difficult to fill. On April 30th, the ÖFB Cup final will take place in the Wörthersee Stadium. “In terms of the whole environment, it is a wonderful location. In the past, however, it was mostly difficult to mobilize the regional population decisively,” explained Neuhold. Linz remains, where this problem did not exist when the international came back after more than ten years. “This is a very valuable location for us, also for the future,” emphasized Neuhold.

The Generali Arena of Wiener Austria is currently “not in the immediate focus” for international matches. In Innsbruck the capacity in combination with the available hospitality areas is the limiting factor, in Graz (also 15,000) it is primarily the VIP rooms. “We have repeatedly made our point of view to Sturm that we would support an expansion of the infrastructure, especially in hospitality, in the Merkur Arena,” said Neuhold. However, the club is only a tenant, the stadium is owned by the city and is operated by Messe Graz.

The construction of another arena suitable for the senior national team is not foreseeable in Austria in the next few years. According to Neuhold, however, there would be stadiums that could be used for the women’s or the U21 team – such as that of Blau-Weiss Linz. The Hohe Warte of the Vienna could also be further developed in the near future. For this purpose, locations for a second stadium for the GAK are already being examined in Graz. Neuhold: “We are grateful for every football infrastructure that is created – big and small.”

The rest of the schedule for the Austrian national football team this year:

17 June: European Championship qualifier in Brussels against Belgium

20 June: European Championship qualifier at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna against Sweden

7 September: friendly (probably in Linz against Republic of Moldova)

September 12: European Championship qualification in Sweden (probably in Solna near Stockholm)

13 October: European Championship qualifier against Belgium (probably in Vienna)

October 16: European Championship qualification in Azerbaijan (probably in Baku)

November 16: European Championship qualification in Estonia (probably in Tallinn)

21 November: friendly (probably at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna against Germany)