Austria anxious to raise the bar

Drawn against Croatia, Poland and neighbours Germany in Group B, Austria know they need to raise their game to avoid a calamity at UEFA EURO 2008™.

Damning assessment
After 12 friendly games in 2007 produced just one win for Josef Hickersberger's side, former Germany captain and ex-FC Salzburg assistant coach Lothar Matthäus has little confidence in Austrian football. "The Austrian league is second-rate, if not third-rate, and the national team have already lost the respect of the fans," he said. "There's no Herbert Prohaska or Hans Krankl any more, and there is no way they will finish higher than bottom place."

Shot shy
For Hickersberger, though, the situation is a little less dire, although he admits his side have problems to solve in the coming months. "Our defence has become more stable in the last year," he said. Now he has to hope the attack will come together in 2008. Austria scored only seven goals in friendly action in 2007 – with three coming in the 3-2 win against Ivory Coast in October. They simply must do better.

'Reasonable finish'
Their 2007 series began on a low with a 1-1 draw with Malta, and public confidence waxed and waned thereafter. A brave 1-0 defeat by France lifted spirits, along with a 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic, but it was the lack of goals more than anything else which caused doubts. The year ended with a 0-0 stalemate with Tunisia, after which forward Saniel Kuljic said: "It was a reasonable finish to this year's matches, where we have had some quite poor spells."

Quality opponents
Hickersberger, 59, certainly sees positives in his side's performances, saying: "There were definitely improvements in our defending – that is what sticks out." He has also backed the decision to pit his team against top-quality opposition such as England. "It is important that they get used to a high international level and high pace." New year assignments against Germany and the Netherlands will continue that process.

Germany date
It is the Group B game against Germany on 16 June that has captured the public's imagination. Hickersberger said: "The meeting with Germany is one I am especially looking forward to. I played in the German Bundesliga and coached there, while [Germany coach] Joachim Löw coached in Innsbruck and Vienna. This will be a really nice match." Should he manage to get his strikers firing over the coming months, it may not be their last game of the EURO either.