Kick-off: 1700, 13/06/2021
Stadium: Arena Nationala
TV: ITV
Austria beat North Macedonia at home and away in qualifying for Euro 2020 and can confirm that superiority on neutral territory in Bucharest.
Das Team prevailed 4-1 in Skopje and then 2-1 in Vienna but we’re expecting a cagier contest in the opening round of Group C fixtures.
Punters can get 29/20 for Franco Foda’s side to win to nil this time and that is our first Austria vs North Macedonia prediction.
A Look At Austria’s Betting Odds
Austria were pretty sound defensively in finishing second behind Poland in that qualifying pool, conceding only one goal in two games against the table toppers.
They went on to do even better in the latest Nations League competition, winning a B-level group ahead of Norway, Romania and Northern Ireland.
There was a blip in March’s 4-0 home loss to Denmark in World Cup qualifying but this is usually a solid and reliable set-up.
Former Stoke and West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic netted six times in qualifying for this tournament while RB Leipzig’s Marcel Sabitzer is another key figure.
Bayern Munich star David Alaba and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger help to convince us they have more quality than their opponents here.
However, having not qualified for the World Cup since 1998 and failing to win a game in two previous appearances at these finals, there could be some nerves early on.
Das Team failed to score in two warm-up matches, losing 1-0 to England and drawing 0-0 with Slovakia.
Looking at the Austria vs North Macedonia odds, we like 3/1 for Draw HT/Austria FT.
A Look At North Macedonia’s Betting Odds
In qualifying, North Macedonia finished five points behind Austria in third, failing to pick up a point against the top two.
Four wins and two draws from six games versus Slovenia, Israel and Latvia was a decent effort, though.
Play-off victories over Kosovo at home and Georgia away sent the Lynxes through to their first major event since gaining independence from Yugoslavia.
Last year’s Nations League featured a series of close contests with Armenia, Georgia and Estonia, with second place in that section no disgrace.
Igor Angelovski will now hope to prove that March’s surprise 2-1 World Cup success over Germany in Duisburg was no fluke.
Talismanic forward Goran Pandev netted in that match at the age of 37, along with 21-year-old Napoli midfielder Elif Elmas.
Leeds defender Ezgjan Alioski and goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, of Rayo Vallecano, also feature in an experienced squad.
This is still a big step up in class, though, and we can see Angelovski’s side being game but slightly outgunned in their matches.
Let’s add 19/4 for a 1-0 scoreline in favour of Das Team to our Austria vs North Macedonia betting tips.
Head-to-head: Austria 2-1 North Macedonia, North Macedonia 1-4 Austria
Join bwin today and receive up to £20 money back as a FreeBet if your first wager (3+ selections at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater) is a loser! Terms and conditions apply.
