Austria’s lineup is there: Nobody expected this man

The line-up for Austria’s European Championship qualifying duel with Belgium, which kicks off at 8.45 p.m. in Vienna’s sold-out Ernst Happel Stadium, is here. Team boss Ralf Rangnick, who called this match the “finale”, decided on the following formation: As expected, former LASK captain Alexander Schlager starts in goal, who has truly earned his status as number one with strong performances.

Konrad Laimer can be expected on the right in the back four, who also fills this role very well at FC Bayern Munich. He replaces the injured Philipp Mwene, who played in this position in the decisive 3-1 win in Sweden. As expected, the central defender duo is Alaba’s replacement Kevin Danso and Freiburg legionnaire Philipp Lienhart. Maximilian Wöber, who was committed to Borussia Mönchengladbach and got fit in a timely manner, is used at left back.

There are three men in the central midfield: Leipzig players Xaver Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald were considered to be in the squad anyway, and Florian Grillitsch from TSG Hoffenheim is also in the squad because Marcel Sabitzer (Dortmund) is apparently not at 100 percent after adductor problems. Christoph Baumgartner (Leipzig) and Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg) are expected on the outside.

And now comes the really big surprise: Manprit Sarkaria from SK Sturm Graz is expected to be deployed at the front line. He was preferred over Junior Adamu (Leipzig) and Sasa Kalajdzic (Wolverhampton). It looks like Rangnick is pushing for a strong solution. The 27-year-old Sarkaria is a native of Vienna, is under contract with the “Blackies” until 2025 and has scored three goals and prepared three in his six Bundesliga appearances this season. The 1.80 meter tall man (unexpectedly) makes his international match debut.

The list of failures is long and includes six names: David Alaba, Marko Arnautovic, Stefan Posch, Michael Gregoritsch, Karim Onisiwo and Philipp Mwene. Sabitzer can at least sit on the bench. Konrad Laimer wears the captain’s armband.

The Belgians only have number three in goal, Matz Sels. Maybe the Austrians, who mathematically are still two points short of a ticket to the 2024 European Championship finals in Germany, can take advantage of this.