Austria vs Nth Macedonia Prediction, Betting Tips and Preview - EURO 2020
How Austria Qualified for Euro 2020
It’s the third time that Austria have made it to the finals of the European Championships. They were the joint hosts back in 2008 and qualified in 2016. They’ve achieved the same feat this time around after finishing second in Group G.
It was a tightly-contested group but Austria secured their place in the tournament back in November 2019. Ironically, they beat their tournament rivals, North Macedonia to do it. The 2-1 win in Vienna secured second spot behind Poland.
How North Macedonia Qualified for Euro 2020
North Macedonia took a longer route to get here. They finished third in Group G after that defeat to Austria in November 2019. But they were handed a lifeline through the Euro 2020 Qualifying Play-Offs.
North Macedonia went into Path D in the playoffs as 16 teams competed for just four spots in the finals. Igor Angelovski’s side beat Kosovo 2-1 in the semi-finals before coming up against Georgia in the final. They secured a 1-0 win after a goal from the country’s captain and leading scorer, Goran Pandev.
Austria v North Macedonia Stats & Analysis
Austria were a difficult side to get past in qualification. Their place in the final tournament is largely down to a solid defence. They kept clean sheets in four of their 10 matches, the second-best return in their group. Austria also conceded more than a single goal in just one of their 10 qualification matches.
North Macedonia’s matches were far more open. Both teams scored in six out of 10 in their qualification campaign, only three countries had a higher figure. They kept just two clean sheets along the way. This could make for an interesting clash when these two sides meet in Bucharest but it may not be the highest-scoring match in the tournament. Neither of these teams were especially prolific in front of goal with Macedonia especially struggling in that respect. They scored an average of just 1.25 goals per game in their qualification campaign.
Austria v North Macedonia Bets
Austria are the big favourites here. They are 8/15 to secure all three points and get their group stage off to a flying start. A draw is 7/2 and North Macedonia are 15/2 to get their first European Championships win at the first time of asking.
Both teams to score looks a good bet at 6/4 considering how many of North Macedonia’s qualification matches ended that way. Just don’t expect it to be a high-scoring match. Austria averaged just 2.80 total match goals in qualification and North Macedonia were even lower at 2.50. Under 2.5 total match goals is 8/11 and under 1.5 is 9/4.
