Slovakia vs Austria prediction: WORLD: Friendly International betting tips on match 2024-03-22 17:00.
[p]Slovakia made it to their third consecutive Euros, finishing second in Group J of their UEFA qualifying campaign after only losing twice – both times to eventual group winners Portugal (W7, D1). Head coach Francesco Calzona has begun to improve Napoli’s fortunes owing to a unique arrangement of managing the club along with national duties and now gets back to his primary focus of preparing the Falcons for the Euros, as he remains under contract with Slovakia until 2025.[/p]
[p]First up this year is a home friendly against Austria, against whom they have an even record in five previous meetings (W1, D3, L1), all played in or before 2021. And the Slovaks seem to have a strong affinity for draws in general, with five of their last seven international friendlies ending all square (W1, L1).[/p]
[p]Like their hosts here, Austria reached a third straight Euros for the first time ever, finishing second and just a point behind Belgium in Group F after winning six matches in the qualification campaign (D1, L1). The visitors are likely to prove tough to breach, as they were defensively solid during qualifying (GA7) and have won their last three games without conceding, including a 2-0 friendly victory in November over Euro 2024 hosts Germany.[/p]
[p]Ralf Rangnick’s men have adapted well on their travels, going unbeaten on the road (W3, D1) in the qualifiers. He will hope the squad retains that mojo and doesn’t let the latest controversy over three of his players singing homophobic chants cast a shadow over preparations, with the trio left out of the squad following the scandal. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Juraj Kucka has never been on the losing side for Slovakia when he has scored (W11, D2) – a run that started against Austria in a 2-1 friendly triumph in 2011. One player who seems to have mastered the art of winning when scoring is Marcel Sabitzer, whose last three goals in international friendlies have come in wins for Austria, including in their most recent one against Germany.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Four of Austria’s last five goals have been scored before the 60th minute, but they have never netted before then against Slovakia.[/p]