Herzog's dream team

“We are very difficult to beat with this team”

Andreas Herzog presents his dream squad for the EURO.(Bild: Krone KREATIV, GEPA Pictures)

The EURO omens are looking really good for Austria. The squad for the start against France has crystallized. Pentz in goal, Danso is a bulwark, Baumgartner our trump ace. 

The fact that Ralf Rangnick wasn't satisfied with the 1-1 draw in Switzerland and said that the team hadn't found their stride was a really good sign in terms of the EURO. Nevertheless, our team manager will have more clarity and his preferred formation in mind after the two test matches.

In goal, I'm betting on Patrick Pentz as number 1 against France, while Kevin Danso has shown what a bulwark he can be in defense - he's the strongest in terms of presence and physicality. And in Rangnick's eyes, he has probably found his partner in Max Wöber - a final indication of this for me was that the team boss substituted both of them in the 67th minute in Switzerland on Saturday, giving them a chance to make a final fine-tuning in central defense.

Andreas Herzog's preferred eleven(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Stefan Posch seems to be the man on the right side of defense: He has been used to this role for a long time, is robust and has a strong header. On the left, I see Philipp Mwene as having the necessary agility in the expected duel with Ousmane Dembélé. In order to be able to tame the insane attack around Kylian Mbappé to some extent, the defense must rise above itself as a collective anyway.

In front of them, the duo of Nicolas Seiwald and Konrad Laimer are a prime example of Rangnick's playing philosophy: the six-men are familiar with the intense game, anticipate excellently in both directions and know exactly how and when to defend forwards.

On the wings, Marcel Sabitzer is indispensable with his experience and class, while Patrick Wimmer 's dynamism speaks for itself. He marches up and down the pitch and could benefit from the fact that Theo Hernandez, as an attacking defender, repeatedly offers the opposition free spaces.

Christoph Baumgartner is our most important man offensively, his recent record (five goals in five games) says it all. "Baumi" is in absolute top form, does everything right with the ball at the moment and is also incredibly cool in front of goal. In a possible 4-4-2 against France, he would complement Michael Gregoritsch well up front - "Gregerl" works a lot against the ball and the running-intensive duel speaks in his favor as a second striker.

What is incredibly important for the tournament: Austria has much more to offer than this team, a really good breadth in the squad. In central defense, for example: Gernot Trauner has what it takes to be the leader of the defense and has developed enormously at Feyenoord - something he is also proving in the national team. Philipp Lienhart and Leo Querfeld also bring a lot of quality, which also applies to Florian Grillitsch and Romano Schmid in midfield.

And let's not forget Marko Arnautovic: with his class, he can be a trump card in attack, especially at the back when it comes to the final spurt of a game. One thing is already clear to me: with this team we will be very difficult to beat at the EURO.