Having been written off as the worst hosts in history before the tournament began, Austria go into their match against Poland in a confident mood despite losing 1-0 to Croatia in their opener.

They were supposed to be demolished, wiped out by a Croat side that has been mythologised by pundits everywhere after their qualification at England’s expense, but Austria surprised their critics with a competent performance on Sunday.

Josef Hickersberger’s team out-passed and out-shot Slaven Bilic’s checker-clad charges and deserved to get a result from their opening encounter. Luka Modric’s fourth-minute penalty was the only shot registered on the Austrian goal all afternoon, illustrating how capable Hickersberger’s men are defensively.
The co-hosts, however, were lucky to finish the match with 11 players after Emanuel Pogatetz repeatedly fell on his opponents like an avalanche. The Middlesbrough defender picked up an injury for his troubles, bruising his left foot, but should be available for tonight’s game, as will striker Roland Linz who has recovered from a ligament problem.

Linz may start from the bench though after Hickersberger intimated he wants to change the team’s formation ahead of the Poles’ visit to Vienna. The 58-year-old Coach is expected to move away from 4-4-2, which he has deployed throughout his tenure, and line up his side in a 4-5-1 formation. Such a change would substantiate the Austrians in midfield and give them the flexibility to switch to 4-3-3 when in attacking situations.

That system is viable given the quality and pace of Austria’s wide players, Martin Stranzl and Jürgen Säumel, who showed real promise down the flanks on Sunday. It would also give Hickersberger the opportunity to use 22-year-old Ümit Korkmaz, the Eintracht Frankfurt fantasista, who added spice in the final third on entering as a second half substitute.

Poland were shown up at the back against Germany. The Orly defended far too high up the pitch, allowing the Mannschaft to get behind them all too easily. The speed and mobility of Austria, whose central midfielders Joachim Standfest and Rene Aufhauser covered 22km between them on Sunday, will preoccupy the Poles who were overrun in the middle by the Germans.

Coach Leo Beenhakker is likely to be without target man and former Celtic favourite Marek Zurawski, after the 31-year-old suffered a thigh strain. He will be replaced by another Marek, Southampton forward Saganowski, who will either play along side qualifying top scorer Ebi Smolarek or behind him as a link between attack and midfield.

Matches between these two nations are rarely a dull affair, their previous seven meetings have produced 33 goals.

Key clash: Emanuel Pogatetz v Euzebiusz Smolarek
Named after Portuguese legend Eusebio, the son of a former Polish international, Smolarek, who tested positive for cannabis in 2002 after nibbling on a space cake, is the only player capable of launching Leo Beenhakker’s men towards the final frontiers of this summer’s European Championship. The 27-year-old scored more goals in qualifying than any other player in Austria and Switzerland, and will test the clumsy Pogatetz to the full.

Ref From channel4.com