Austria National Football Team Formation

Starting Lineup

Kalajdzic · Chukwuemeka · Wanner · Sabitzer · Schlager · Seiwald · Prass · Laimer · Danso · Lienhart · Schlager

Austria focuses on heavy pressing and verticality through a 2-5-3 formation. This lineup is built to dominate central areas and win the ball back quickly. The team wants to push high up the pitch to keep the opposition pinned in their own half.

Schlager stays between the posts to defend the goal. The back line operates as a narrow back two with Danso and Lienhart. Danso provides aerial strength and physical presence to win the second ball. Lienhart acts as a ball playing defender to play short from the back and progress through the thirds. They play a high line to squeeze the space and catch opponents. Both defenders must be ready to cover and track back if the opposition hits in behind on the transition.

The midfield is a powerful five man block. Laimer and Prass form a double pivot to shield the defence and win the ball in the middle. Laimer uses his high pressing intensity to trigger a press. Seiwald and Schlager play as inverted eights to connect the defensive and attacking lines. Sabitzer plays as an attacking ten behind the striker, using his passing range and set piece delivery to split the defence with a through ball before arriving late into the box. This unit works to recycle possession and move the ball forward quickly.

The attacking trio uses a lone striker with two wide players. Kalajdzic acts as a target man to hold up the ball and win the header. Wanner and Chukwuemeka play as inverted wingers who cut inside to create central overloads. They look to spread wide to stretch the defence before they try to play through the lines. The team looks to attack in combinations to find the feet of the striker or hit in behind on the transition.

Austria gains numerical superiority in midfield through this heavy five man lineup. This allows the team to compress the midfield and press in pairs to win it back high up the pitch. The formation also creates massive central overloads when the wingers cut inside and the midfielders push up. This creates many chances to play short passes in tight spaces.

This 2-5-3 formation is a high risk system built for aggressive, vertical football. It is best suited for games where Austria can use a high press to force a long ball from the opponent.