Euro 2024: Early Leaders Clash in Group F

Belgium vs Austria

The two unbeaten nations in Group F meet on Saturday when the Euro 2024 qualifying game between Belgium and Austriais the entertainment on offer at the King Badouin Stadium in Brussels.

Italian-born coach Domenico Tedesco is in his first tournament as Belgium boss, and he made a great start with a 3-0 victory away to Sweden, while Ralf Rangnick’s visitors have two wins from two.

So Austria are currently leading Group F, but a victory for Belgium would allow the hosts to leapfrog their opponents and take a firm hold on the group.

Belgium are without Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne who was injured in the Champions League final, but they are still ranked the second-best team in the world by FIFA, a full 32 places above their visitors, and the Euro 2024 betting odds point to a home win.

Talking Points

So far so good for Tedesco

After crashing out of the Qatar World Cup at the group stage, Roberto Martinez stood down after six years in charge of the Red Devils and former RB Leipzig boss Tedesco took over.

A 3-0 win away to Sweden in his opener was some statement of intent as Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick, while the livewire Dodi Lukebakio made two assists. 

Tedesco followed that up with a 3-2 win away to Germany as Yannick Carrasco, Lukaku, and De Bruyne all hit the target and created multiple Euro 2024 highlights. And while they will miss the Manchester City man, the Red Devils have plenty of midfield guile and goal threat.

Youri Tielemans’ move to Aston Villa will hopefully rejuvenate the attacking midfielder who had his most disappointing campaign to date as his former side Leicester City were relegated. At his best, Tielemans is one of the best providers in the business and he famously scored a screamer when the Foxes won the FA Cup in 2021.

The head coach is understandably looking forward to his debut on home soil, saying: “In Sweden and in Germany, I really felt the support of our fans. I have been told that the atmosphere in Brussels is even better.”

Rangnick’s rebuild is underway

Austria are on a winning streak of four games, including two victories in their opening Euro qualifiers.

The Austrians would expect to win home games against Azerbaijan and Estonia, and they did the business professionally with 4-1 and 2-1 victories, Marcel Sabitzer scoring twice against Azerbaijan.

Following his stint in charge of Manchester United, Rangnick took the Austrian manager’s job in April 2022 on a two-year contract. He kicked off with a 3-0 win over Croatia in the Nations League, but that was Austria’s last win in the competition and they were relegated to League B.

Now he needs to restore some pride and guide the nation to a European finals and, with six points in the bag, his players can look forward to a bigger challenge in Brussels.

Captained by the versatile David Alaba, with Manchester United star Sabitzer in midfield and Marko Arnautovic in attack, Austria have plenty of experience and quality.

22-year-old RB Salzburg striker Junior Adamu is an exciting prospect and 23-year-old Hoffenheim midfielder Christoph Baumgarter is a player Rangnick can build the future around.

Austria will push Belgium all the way and that makes this match a fascinating prospect.     

History

The most recent head-to-heads can’t tell us much about these two squads, with the last meeting ending in a 2-0 win for Belgium12 years ago.

Each of the previous three meetings resulted in a draw, so there is no psychological advantage in this tie. Basically, it’s all about the players who take the pitch on Saturday.       

With three wins, one draw, and two defeats from the last six games, Belgium are searching for some consistency and it looks like Tedesco could be the man to find it.

Meanwhile, Austria seem to have found theirs under Rangnick with those four wins on the bounce which followed back-to-back defeats.  

Betting Tip

The Red Devils are hot favourites to win this tie at SBOTOP odds of 1.61, while Austria are at 4.45 with the draw at 3.54. I think home advantage and Tedesco’s impetus will bring the Red Devils through, but they will have to work hard for their three points.  

The last four games involving these two teams, victories for both of course, have yielded an average of four goals a game, and I think we’ll get over two again in this fixture.  

For a correct scoreline, a 2-1 home win at odds of 6.37 won’t be too far wide of the mark, while 3-1 at 11.56 is an exciting longer shot.  

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.