eight days and counting

With it only eight days till the opening match against Croatia, tomorrows friendly against Malta in Graz is the last chance to tinker with the lineup and formation.

Quite frankly, I was surprised to see Stefan Maierhofer omitted from the final squad as his goal scoring touch, presence in set-plays, along with ease of pairing with Erwin “The Hoff” Hoffer seemed to be a foregone conclusion. However given the Coach Hickersberger’s decision it’ll be interesting to see if the experiment with a 3-5-2 will be abandoned for a more traditional 4-4-2.

The back four appears set with György Garics, Emanuel “The Pog” Pogatetz, Martin Stranzl and Sebastian Prödl while the mid-field is anchored Ivica Vastic and Rene Aufhauser supplying experienced and calm that will be deeply needed. Tomorrows affair would also be a good chance to pair up Martin Harnik and The Hoff again for the first time since Austria’s successful run at the U-20 World Cup semi-finals last summer in Canada. Goalkeeping is the big question and Alexander Manninger will be handling duties tomorrow although the coaching staff is stating that the top spot has yet to be decided.