Northern Ireland v Austria

IRELAND O F F I C I A L M A T C H D A Y P R O G R A M M E P R I C E £ 4 v AUSTRIA

UEFA Nations League League B Group 3

National Football Stadium At Windsor Park Sunday 18 November 2018 Kick-off 17:00

Mens adidas Marathon Boost

CONTENTS

TEAMS

2 3 5 7

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

MICHAEL O’NEILL PATRICK NELSON

NORTHERN IRELAND SQUAD 16 SHANE FERGUSON INTERVIEW 18 DID YOU KNOW? 22 THE OPPONENTS - AUSTRIA 33 JAMAL LEWIS INTERVIEW 38 INTERNATIONAL RECORD 47 MASCOTS 52

Official Publication by Irish Football Association National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Donegall Avenue, Belfast, BT12 6LW Editor Nigel Tilson Director of Communications Neil Brittain Design and Print Minprint Ltd, 401 Castlereagh Road, Belfast, Co Down, BT5 6QP Tel: 028 9070 5205 www.minprint.co.uk

Irish Football Association President David Martin Chief Executive Patrick Nelson Advertising Irish Football Association Pictures Press Eye

Please note that the views in this programme do not necessarily reflect those of the Irish Football Association.

NORTHERN IRELAND

AUSTRIA

Michael O’Neill Manager

Franco Foda Manager

Trevor Carson Motherwell Conor Hazard Celtic Michael McGovern Norwich City Bailey Peacock-Farrell Leeds United Bobby Burns Livingston* Craig Cathcart Watford Jonathan Evans Leicester City Tom Flanagan Sunderland Aaron Hughes Heart of Midlothian Jamal Lewis Norwich City Gareth McAuley Glasgow Rangers Conor McLaughlin Millwall Patrick McNair Middlesbrough Michael Smith Heart of Midlothian Stuart Dallas Leeds United Steven Davis Southampton Corry Evans Blackburn Rovers Shane Ferguson Millwall Jordan Jones Kilmarnock Niall McGinn Aberdeen George Saville Middlesbrough** Jordan Thompson Blackpool Gavin Whyte Oxford United Liam Boyce Burton Albion Kyle Lafferty Glasgow Rangers Josh Magennis Bolton Wanderers Paul Smyth Queens Park Rangers Kyle Vassell Rotherham United Jamie Ward Charlton Athletic***

Heinz Lindner Grasshopper Zurich Cican Stankovic Red Bull Salzburg Richard Strebinger Rapid Vienna Aleksandar Dragovic Bayer Leverkusen Martin Hinteregger Augsburg Stefan Lainer Red Bull Salzburg Andreas Ulmer Red Bull Salzburg Kevin Wimmer Hannover David Alaba Bayern Munich Julian Baumgartlinger Bayer Leverkusen Stefan Ilsanker RB Leipzig Florian Kainz Werder Bremen Konrad Laimer RB Leipzig Valentino Lazaro Hertha Berlin Louis Schaub FC Koln Xaver Schlager Red Bull Salzburg Thomas Goiginger LASK Linz Alessandro Schopf Schalke Peter Zulj Sturm Graz Marko Arnautovic West Ham United Guido Burgstaller Schalke Michael Gregoritsch Augsburg

*on loan from Hearts **on loan from Millwall ***on loan from Nottingham Forest

Green and White

Red and White

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee Assistant Referee 1 Assistant Referee 2 Fourth Official Additional Asst Ref 1 Additional Asst Ref 2 Observer

Jonathan Lardot BEL Frédéric Godelaine BEL Laurent Conotte BEL Vito Di Vincenzo BEL Alexandre Boucaut BEL Nathan Verboomen BEL David Elleray ENG

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PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

On behalf of the Irish Football Association it gives me great pleasure to welcome the officials, players and supporters of Austria to the National Football Stadium in Belfast for today’s Group B game in UEFA’s Nations League competition.

This new UEFA competition has, of course, drawn Northern Ireland with Austria and Bosnia & Herzegovina in a three-country group and to date we have lost all three matches played despite good performances by the team. Since our last home game against Bosnia & Herzegovina on 8 September we have defeated Israel 3-0 in a mandatory friendly and embarked on a ‘double header’ trip during October to play our two away Nations League group games. We suffered defeats in both of those games but created enough chances to take something from them. The second mandatory friendly took place in Dublin on Thursday night and provided a keenly contested match at the Aviva Stadium. The scoreless draw doesn’t reflect the Northern Ireland performance in a game that we could have won. Austria travel to Belfast on the back of having secured second place in the group with a 0-0 draw at home to Bosnia & Herzegovina, leaving Northern Ireland relegated to Nations League C. Despite that there is still much to play for today, including FIFA ranking points, and I am looking forward to an exciting game. UEFA will now park the Nations League competition as the attention of all 55 UEFA member

associations turns to Dublin where the draw for the Euro 2020 qualifying group stages takes place on 2 December. When the 20 countries from the qualifying series have been determined the Nations League will resume for its knock-out phase. This late afternoon/early evening game has been sold out for some days and the large crowd will add that extra support to the team in an effort to get a win and gain some momentum to carry forward to the Euro 2020 campaign. Today’s date is significant in the history of the Irish Football Association because it is exactly 138 years ago that the Irish Football Association was founded - and it’s wonderful that the fourth oldest association in the world is still going strong, so Happy Birthday Irish FA. Christmas is just six weeks away and on behalf of everyone at the Irish Football Association I hope that you all enjoy the festive period and have a happy and peaceful New Year. Enjoy the game and have a safe journey home. David J Martin President Irish Football Association

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MANAGER’S VIEW

I would be the first to admit to being very disappointed and not a little frustrated at our UEFA Nations League position going into our last match.

I cannot remember a match which we dominated as much as our home game against Bosnia and Herzegovina in September, and yet we managed to come out of it defeated by two goals to one. Likewise when was the last time a Northern Ireland team hit the post three times in a game, as we did in Sarajevo, and still failed to score? The Nations League may have a complicated structure but the key element is to win your matches, and unfortunately results have gone against us, although I have been content and pleased with the performances. The matches have seen the introduction of young players such as Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Jamal Lewis and Gavin Whyte, while it was good to see Will Grigg back on the pitch with a goal and an ‘almost’ equaliser in Vienna. One of the strengths of this competition is that it has pitched teams against opponents of a similar standard, thus we have had Germany against France and England versus Spain and in League D lower ranked teams such as Gibraltar enjoying victories. This has meant a lot of the games have been very close, results have balanced on individual pieces of skill or mistakes - and all the games in our group have been very tight. Unfortunately Thursday’s scoreless draw between Bosnia & Herzegovina and today’s opponents sealed our relegation from the group. While that is disappointing I can assure you that we will be going all out to end the campaign with the victory that our performances deserve.

I was really pleased with our own performance on Thursday. I thought we were much the better team in our friendly against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. Although it was again frustrating that we could not turn our dominance into goals, the game at the Aviva nevertheless provided our younger players in particular with another good opportunity to build up their international pedigree. And next, of course, will be the Euro 2020 Qualifiers draw next month with matches due to start in March 2019. The pace of the international football calendar is relentless and as coaches we have little time to blood new players. The Nations League has been invaluable for this. Like everyone else I was delighted Ian Baraclough has renewed his contract with the IFA and congratulate both him and Stephen Frail (who has seen his Under-17s qualify for the elite round in UEFA competition this season) on the great work they continue to do with our younger players. The provision of a pathway through the age groups into the senior squad is vital to enable us to have a strong pool of players to call on. Thanks once again for your relentless support both here at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park and wherever else we play in the world. In Panama, Costa Rica, Vienna, Sarajevo and Dublin the support of the fans has provided the players and backroom staff with a great lift. I am sure it will be no different today and I trust that we can provide the result you deserve. Michael O’Neill Northern Ireland Manager

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GOOD AFTERNOON

Welcome to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park for our final senior men’s international of 2019 against Austria.

The newly minted UEFA Nations League has not gone as well as we would have wanted so far, but today we have the chance to finish with a win and complete our mini league on a high. The Nations League has certainly been a close run thing with well fought games against opposition of our own standard, and but for the width of the woodwork we would probably be sitting with points on the board at this moment! Our preparation game in Dublin on Thursday evening was along similar lines to our three Nations League games to date. We created plenty of chances, were comfortable in possession, played some excellent football, but could not find the net. Hopefully we can change that against Austria. As many of you will know we recently announced a joint bid with the FAI to host the 2023 UEFA men’s U21 finals and we are hopeful that we can put a compelling bid together to persuade the UEFA executive committee that between us we will be able to stage a tremendous tournament. The U21 Euros are the second biggest national teams tournament in Europe after the Euros itself and bringing the cream of Europe’s young footballing talent to the island of Ireland will be good for all stakeholders, particularly our supporters who will able to watch many games first hand here in Northern Ireland.

On a similar note we have just made our third bid to bring the UEFA Super Cup Final here to the National Football Stadium, this time the 2021 edition, and we are hopeful of success. The newly developed stadium is a fabulous stage for events like these, and now we have it we can make bids with confidence. All eyes will be on the Convention Centre in Dublin on Sunday 2 December as the draw takes place for the European Qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2020. Who we get to play and where and when we will be travelling are the questions all supporters will need answers to. GAWA members will no doubt have a variety of travel websites open on their phones and computers as the names come out of the hat and all manner of travel plans will be in place by the end of that day! There will be five groups of five teams and five groups of six teams in the mix as there is no overall host nation, with everyone in UEFA needing to qualify for the finals tournament this time. Time for us to #daretodream again! Enjoy the match today.

Patrick Nelson Chief Executive Irish Football Association

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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 0 NORTHERN IRELAND 0

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY 15.11.2018 Aviva Stadium Dublin

STATS

POSSESSION %

42

58

SHOTS

8

11

SHOTS ON TARGET

2

3

CORNERS

3

11

FOULS

11

15

1 Doyle 3 Christie 7 Williams 9 Maguire 12 Stevens 15 Curtis 16 Kelleher 17 Hourihane 19 Hogan 20 Obafemi TEAMS 23 Randolph 18 Lenihan 4 Duffy 5 Egan 2 Coleman 13 Hendrick 6 Whelan 10 Brady 11 McClean 8 O'Dowda 14 Robinson Substitutes

1 Peacock-Farrell 22 Smith 20 Cathcart 5 J Evans

3 Lewis 8 Davis 16 Whyte 13 C Evans 6 Saville 14 Dallas 9 Boyce

Substitutes

2 McLaughlin 4 McAuley 7 McGinn 10 Lafferty 11 Ferguson 12 McGovern 15 Jones 17 McNair 18 Hughes 19 Ward 21 Magennis 23 Hazard

21 Long 22 Arter

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BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 2 Dzeko (27', 73') NORTHERN IRELAND 0

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE B GROUP 3 15.10.2018 Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

STATS

POSSESSION %

55

45

SHOTS

17

11

SHOTS ON TARGET

4

3

CORNERS

5

2

FOULS

13

12

1 Begovic 4 Todorovic 5 Nastic 13 Cimirot 14 Prcic 16 Bajic 18 Kodro 19 Krunic 20 Zakaric 22 Kjosevski 23 Milosevic 2 Civic 7 Besic 10 Pjanic 21 Saric 8 Visca 11 Dzeko (C) 9 Duljevic Substitutes TEAMS 12 Sehic 6 Vranjes 15 Sunjic 17 Zukanovic

1 Peacock-Farrell 17 McNair 20 Cathcart 5 J Evans 3 Lewis 16 Norwood 13 C Evans (C) 8 Davis 6 Saville

14 Dallas 10 Boyce

Substitutes

2 McLaughlin 4 Smith 7 Whyte 11 Ferguson 12 Carson 15 Jones 18 Hughes 19 Vassell 21 Magennis 22 Flanagan 23 McGovern

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AUSTRIA 1 Arnautovic (71') NORTHERN IRELAND 0

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE B GROUP 3 12.10.2018 Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, Austria

STATS

POSSESSION %

60

40

SHOTS

10

8

SHOTS ON TARGET

3

1

CORNERS

7

4

FOULS

10

13

TEAMS

1 Lindner

1 Peacock-Farrell 17 McNair 20 Cathcart 5 J Evans 3 Lewis 8 Davis (C) 16 Norwood 6 Saville 14 Dallas

20 Lainer 15 Prödl 4 Hinteregger 2 Ulmer 22 Lazaro 6 Ilsanker 16 Zulj 9 Sabitzer 19 Burgstaller 7 Arnautovic (C)

21 Magennis 11 Ferguson

Substitutes

Substitutes

3 Dragovic 5 Wimmer 8 Wöber

2 McLaughlin 4 Smith 7 Whyte 9 Grigg 10 Boyce 12 Carson 13 C Evans 15 Jones 18 Hughes 19 Vassell 22 Flanagan 23 McGovern

10 Schaub 11 Laimer

12 Strebinger 13 Stankovic 14 Hierländer 17 Kainz 18 Schöpf 21 Janko 23 Schlager

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NORTHERN IRELAND SQUAD

TREVOR CARSON GOALKEEPER

CONOR HAZARD GOALKEEPER

MICHAEL McGOVERN GOALKEEPER

BAILEY PEACOCK-FARRELL GOALKEEPER

Club

Club

Club

Club

Motherwell

Glasgow Celtic

Norwich City

Leeds United

Age Caps Goals 30 4 0

Age Caps Goals 20 1 0

Age Caps Goals 34 29 0

Age Caps Goals

22 4

0

BOBBY BURNS DEFENDER

CRAIG CATHCART DEFENDER

JONATHAN EVANS DEFENDER

TOM FLANAGAN DEFENDER

AARON HUGHES DEFENDER

Club

Club

Club

Club

Club

Livingston*

Watford

Heart of Midlothian Age Caps Goals 39 112 1

Leicester City

Sunderland

Age Caps Goals 19 0 0

Age Caps Goals 29 40 2

Age Caps Goals 30 74 2

Age Caps Goals 26 1 0

*on loan from Heart of Midlothian

JAMAL LEWIS DEFENDER

GARETH McAULEY DEFENDER

CONOR McLAUGHLIN DEFENDER

PATRICK McNAIR DEFENDER

MICHAEL SMITH DEFENDER

Club

Club

Club

Club

Club

Glasgow Rangers

Millwall

Middlesbrough

Heart of Midlothian Age Caps Goals 30 2 0

Norwich City

Age Caps Goals

Age Caps Goals 38 79 9

Age Caps Goals 27 34 1

Age Caps Goals 23 23 0

20 5

0

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STUART DALLAS MIDFIELDER

STEVEN DAVIS MIDFIELDER

CORRY EVANS MIDFIELDER

SHANE FERGUSON MIDFIELDER

JORDAN JONES MIDFIELDER

Club

Club

Club

Club

Leeds United

Southampton

Blackburn Rovers

Kilmarnock

Millwall

Age Caps Goals 27 34 3

Age Caps Goals 33 102 10

Age Caps Goals 28 50 1

Age Caps Goals 27 37 1

Age Caps Goals 24 3 0

JORDAN THOMPSON MIDFIELDER

GAVIN WHYTE MIDFIELDER

LIAM BOYCE FORWARD

NIALL McGINN MIDFIELDER

GEORGE SAVILLE MIDFIELDER

Club

Club

Club

Club

Club

Blackpool

Burton Albion

Aberdeen

Middlesbrough*

Oxford United

Age Caps Goals 31 54 3

Age Caps Goals 25 9 0

Age Caps Goals 21 2 0

Age Caps Goals 22 2 1

Age Caps Goals 27 15 1

*on loan from Millwall

KYLE LAFFERTY FORWARD

JOSH MAGENNIS FORWARD

PAUL SMYTH FORWARD

KYLE VASSELL FORWARD

JAMIE WARD FORWARD

Club

Club

Club

Club

Club

Glasgow Rangers

Bolton Wanderers

Rotherham

Charlton Athletic*

Queens Park Rangers

Age Caps Goals 31 68 20

Age Caps Goals 28 40 4

Age Caps Goals 21 2 1

Age Caps Goals 25 2 0

Age Caps Goals 32 34 4 *on loan from Nottingham Forest

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Words Mark McIntosh The Sun

STICKING WITH IT WAS GOOD ADVICE

Shane Ferguson has thanked Michael O’Neill for helping him reignite his career - both at club and international level.

He admitted he thought long and hard about his options. “I’ve had a lot of great moments at Millwall, like getting promoted, and sometimes it’s hard to walk away,” he revealed. “I said to myself ‘I want to give it another six months to January and see how it goes from there’. I didn’t want to leave with any regrets. Thankfully now I’m playing and it’s worked out well. “It was a tough time not playing at the start of the season and the last couple of months of last season as well because the team were doing so well. I came back from an injury as well so I was just trying to get back up to speed again in pre- season.” He is relieved he is now playing regular football again, and admits it has boosted his confidence.

The Millwall ace fell out of favour at The Den in the second half of last season and contemplated leaving in search of first team football. As a consequence the opportunities in the green shirt were limited but words of encouragement from the Northern Ireland boss at a difficult time drove the ex-Newcastle United man on to fight for his place. “Michael is always great like that. He’s always phoning me to see how I am and I’d phone him too to ask for advice,” said Ferguson. “He was always saying ‘stick with it and see how the start of the season goes’. He would also help me further down the line if I needed help. “I did consider leaving Millwall. I had conversations with the manager in the summer and it was left up to me to choose what I wanted to do at that stage.”

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“It’s hard going on a Saturday watching your team and you might not even be on the bench, you don’t want that to happen. You don’t want to be in the stand on a Saturday, you want to be out there helping your team- mates. “It’s great that the manager has given me an opportunity and I’m really looking forward to carrying on for the rest of the season.” Since getting back to his best at the London club Ferguson has also given O’Neill more difficult decisions to make. He started the Nations League game in Austria last month and his versatility makes him a great option in the new-look system. The baby-faced former Rangers loanee has been around the senior international set-up for several years, earning 37 caps and scoring once against Finland in 2012 and he is hoping his return to form at club level will create even more opportunities with his country, starting with today’s Nations League finale against Austria. He added: “I play a couple of positions in the team and the lads that play there as well are great competition, so it’s tough. “I always train hard so that when I come away I am ready for that opportunity if needed. “The last couple of Nations League games were disappointing. We had chances as well but both games were just those nights, things weren’t falling for us. We’ll look back on both games and try to put things right. “There is frustration at the minute because we know we could be a lot better off than what we are (in the group). We just have to try to rectify that.” Joining up with the international squad also means a reunion with midfielder George Saville, who left Millwall for Middlesbrough in the summer transfer window. And Ferguson is a big fan. “He’s a massive loss to us at Millwall. You saw how many goals he got for us last season,” he said. “‘Sav with Northern Ireland, we’ve seen his performances, he’s a top player, and hopefully he can keep that going.”

SHANE FERGUSON

Position Midfielder Date Of Birth 12.07.1991 Place Of Birth Derry / Londonderry

MIDFIELDER

Height 178cm Weight 66kg

CLUB RECORD

11

SQUAD NO

CLUBS Newcastle United

23 29

Birmingham City (loan)

Rangers (loan)

2

Millwall

108

Caps 37 Goals 1 INTERNATIONAL RECORD 11 Debut 06.06.2009 v Italy (A) Lost 0-3 SQUAD NO

Northern Ireland U17 Northern Ireland U19 Northern Ireland U21 Northern Ireland B

8

16 11

1

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DID YOU KNOW?

Corry Evans earned his 50th cap for Northern Ireland in last month’s UEFA Nations League game against Bosnia & Herzegovina in Sarajevo. Here Marshall Gillespie unearths some interesting facts and figures about the midfielder’s half-century of games for his country.

Corry Evans has played a total of 3,203 minutes of international football for the senior side. A total of 1,931 of those minutes have come in European and World Cup qualifiers, 1,058 in friendly matches, 124 in the Nations League and 90 in the Carling Nations Cup.

Evans won his first eight international caps as a Manchester United player despite never having played a first team game for the Red Devils. He made a further 10 senior appearances following his move to Hull City, while his last 32 internationals have been with his present employers, Blackburn Rovers.

His one and only goal at full international level came during Nigel Worthington’s reign when he scored a 70th minute winner in a Euro 2012 qualifier in Slovenia in September 2010. It was the only goal of the game. Since then he has gone 44 matches (2,853 minutes) without finding the net for his country.

Corry Evans’ first ever goal on an international stage was a fairly memorable one! It came in a Victory Shield encounter for Northern Ireland against their English counterparts at Chester in November 2005. His 83rd minute strike gave the U16 Schoolboys side only their fourth ever victory over their illustrious opponents and their first ever on English soil.

The midfielder has only completed the full 90 minutes in 14 of his 50 games for Northern Ireland. He has been replaced in 22 of those matches, while he has been used from the substitutes bench on 14 occasions. Evans has been an unused substitute 12 times, the last being in the 2-1 defeat to Bosnia & Herzegovina at the National Football Stadium back in September.

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Evans was handed his international debut by former boss Nigel Worthington when he started the 3-0 friendly defeat to Italy in Pisa on 6 June 2009 aged just 18 years and 311 days, however the majority of his caps, 34 to be precise, have been won under current manager Michael O’Neill.

During his half-century of internationals the former Manchester United trainee has been on a winning Northern Ireland side on 15 occasions. He has tasted defeat in a green shirt 25 times, while the remaining 10 matches have ended in stalemate.

The 28-year-old has played a total of 20 internationals at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, being on the winning side in exactly half of them. He has suffered defeat in six of those matches while the remaining four have ended in draws, three of them scoreless.

Corry became the 38th player to win 50 caps for Northern Ireland when he captained his country against Bosnia & Herzegovina last month. Reaching that landmark also meant he and Jonny became only the second set of brothers after England’s Gary and Phil Neville to both make 50 or more international appearances for any of the Home Nations.

Evans has only been cautioned five times during his Northern Ireland career. The last time he was shown a yellow card was in the 1-0 World Cup 2018 play-off defeat to Switzerland in Belfast last November when he was adjudged to have ‘handled’ the ball, which led to the decisive penalty!

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MEMORIES OF A TOUGH, PHYSICAL BATTLE Former Austrian international goalkeeper Alex Manninger looks back on his career and in particular a memorable 3-3 draw with Northern Ireland at Windsor Park back in 2004. On October 13 in 2004 Salzburg-born goalkeeper Alex Manninger was on the receiving end of arguably one of the greatest international goals ever witnessed at Windsor Park. There were 35 minutes on the clock in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Northern Ireland and Austria - with the visitors leading 1-0 at the time - when Jeff Whitley played a pass to David Healy. The ball bobbled up off the surface so the then Leeds United striker took a touch before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed strike from some 25 yards that left Manninger rooted to the spot. “I didn’t remember that goal until you showed me a video clip,” laughs the former Austrian number one. “What a strike it was… one of those that gave the goalkeeper absolutely no chance. The match as a whole - it finished in a 3-3 draw - was a tough, physical battle. I can remember getting an injury at the end of that match in the scramble that saw Northern Ireland equalise.” Manninger retired from playing last summer at the age of 40, having represented no less than 14 clubs in five different countries during his professional career. He also won 33 caps for Austria between 1999 and 2009. Having signed for Arsenal in 1997, he became the first Austrian to ply his trade in the English Premier League and won both the title and the FA Cup in his debut season with the Gunners. Manninger later turned out for the likes of Fiorentina (loan), Espanyol, Red Bull Salzburg and Juventus before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, which he spent with Liverpool.

“My philosophy throughout my career was to test myself at the highest level possible and to join clubs where I could win things,” reflects Manninger. “To win a Premier League winner’s medal in my first season at Arsenal was incredible. Nearly 15 years on from that I got to experience another title success with Juventus (in 2011-12) albeit it not playing as many matches. “It felt fitting to end my career back in England with another great club in Liverpool. It felt like it was meant to be for me having been the first ever Austrian to play in the Premier League.” Since retiring from playing Manninger has returned to his native Austria and resumed his career as a professional joiner – having first entered the industry as an apprentice prior to the start of his football career. He is also involved in property development and is on the board of his local golf club, Salzkammergut Bad Ischl. “I continue to watch football and it’s been great to see Austria’s progression in recent years and their qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, of course,” says Manninger. “I’m excited to see what’s next for this team. Tremendous credit really has to go to the last two managers of the Austrian national team especially. Marcel Koller and now Franco Foda have developed Austria into a really competitive international team.” Words Andy Greeves

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SCOUTING REPORT Andy Greeves takes a closer look at the Austrian team ahead of this afternoon’s UEFA Nations League encounter. LOWDOWN The result of Austria’s home match with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday will have determined whether or not it is still possible for the ‘Burschen’ to top UEFA Nations League League B Group 3 ahead of today’s fixture. Only a goal-laden victory will have kept those hopes alive for Franco Foda’s side prior to their visit to Belfast. Austria’s Nations League campaign has been blighted by injuries to key players. Skipper Julian Baumgartlinger sustained ligament damage to his left knee back in August and is gingerly making his way back to action. Along with Baumgartlinger star players such as David Alaba, Stefan Lainer and Marko Arnautović have also missed internationals through injury this season. .

TACTICS Austria lined up in a 4-4-2 formation against Northern Ireland in Vienna last month but shaped up in a 3-4-3 in a friendly with Denmark a few days later. They are likely to revert to a 4-4-2 today with West Ham United’s Marko Arnautović set to lead the Austrian line if available for selection. Austria have adopted a relatively direct style of play under Foda’s management, with a real emphasis on quick transitions from back to front. Full-backs such as Alaba and Stefan Lainer are comfortable joining in with attacking moves, while 21-year-old Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Xaver Schlager has shown real creative promise for both club and country

STRENGTHS A real hallmark of Franco Foda teams – including his 2010-11 Austrian Bundesliga winning Sturm Graz side – is that they are hard to beat. The Austrians’ back line, which usually includes centre halves such as Aleksandar Dragovic and Martin Hinteregger or Sebastian Prödl, and goalkeeper Heinz Lindner, are well organised and they rarely ship many goals. At the other end of the pitch Arnautović is key to Austria’s ambitions. Physically strong, the West Hamman has a real fleetness of foot and a sharp footballing brain. His movement enables him to get on the end of chances but he also takes up positions on the pitch that allows him to operate as an excellent link-up between midfield and attack .

POSSIBLE LINE-UP GK Heinz Lindner, RB Stefan Lainer, CB Sebastian Prödl, CB Martin Hinteregger, LB David Alaba, RM Valentino Lazaro, CM Peter Žulj, CM Stefan Ilsanker, LMMarcel Sabitzer, FWMarko Arnautović, FW Guido Burgstaller.

Many thanks to journalist Fabian Zerche (www.spox.com/at) for his assistance in the writing of this article.

SERENDIPITY CANWORK FOR OR AGAINST YOU I like words. I like to try to find the right ones to use. I like the challenge of language.

Who am I to row against the flow? But what is the word to use when serendipity works against you? How do we describe it when the ball hits the post and comes back into the goalkeeper’s hands rather than deflecting into the net? I wonder what is the correct word for this happening on a number of occasions in successive matches? Is it inauspicious, luckless, ill-starred, unfortunate or ill-fated. Or how can we rationalise and describe just good old fashioned bad luck? Luck is certainly difficult to fathom and define. One man’s luck is, probably by definition, someone else’s bad luck. Footballers don’t deliberately shoot wide, they don’t, in that split second they have between spotting the opportunity and the exercise of the action, decide to slam the ball against the base of the post rather than stick the ball in the back of the net. The Nations League campaign has not seen us having the best of luck. Matches have been lost by the odd goal, the special piece of skill. We have been severely punished for our mistakes. It would appear we have decided it seems to be more fun to hit the post than hit the back of the net. Let’s hope the tide is turning and that lady luck (if she exists) is smiling on us this evening. Let us hope for some serendipity. I could do with finding a tenner and a little win would send us all into Christmas happy! Words William Campbell

And as Lewis Carroll wrote in Through The Looking- Glass, ‘“When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less”.’ One of my favourite words is serendipity. This is defined as ‘the occurence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way’. It’s the finding of the £10 note in the pocket of your trousers that you haven’t worn for a while, the bumping into an old and long lost friend in an unexpected place or at an unexpected time. In footballing terms serendipity is the ridiculous own goal or the goalkeeper’s howler that lets your team back into a game which was running away from them, or the unexpected (and perhaps unwarranted) penalty decision for your team. Of course the game is about far more than luck. Talent and ability and drive and commitment count, too. But as Gary Player, the South African golfing superstar of the 1960s and 1970s, famously said, ‘the harder I practice the luckier I get’. It’s the old maxim about 10,000 hours of practice to get to be world class in any discipline (although this has largely been dismissed). It’s David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo spending hours after training honing their free-kick skills, and yet not every free-kick sails majestically into the roof of the net, not every corner meets the head at which it is aimed. Napoleon Bonaparte is reputed to have said ‘I would rather have a lucky general than one who is good’ (albeit it was probably said in French with a Corsican accent!).

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George Saville hit the woodwork in the Nations League game against Bosnia & Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

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NEWMcDONALD’S PROGRAMME TO PROVIDE LOTS OF FUN FOOTBALL

McDonald’s has announced a new four-year community partnership with the Irish FA which will drive participation and inclusivity in grassroots football across Northern Ireland.

The tie-up builds on the long-standing partnership between McDonald’s and the Irish FA which has been in place for 16 years. Pat Jennings, McDonald’s Northern Ireland Football Ambassador, representatives from the Irish FA and local schools attended an event hosted by Lord Mayor Deirdre Hargey at Belfast City Hall to mark the launch of the initiative. McDonald’s is the longest-standing supporter of grassroots football in the UK, having worked with the FA, Irish FA, Scottish FA and Football Association of Wales (FAW) since 2002 and it is renewing its partnerships with all the associations. The new UK-wide initiative will build on the growth of grassroots football over the past decade and a half and it will see the introduction of a participation-based programme aiming to provide five million hours of fun football for children by 2022. Through McDonald’s Fun Football turn up and play coaching sessions, and more Community Football Days than ever before, McDonald’s will provide more than 500,000 children with the opportunity to try football for the first time. The wider focus of the programme will support accredited grassroots clubs and their volunteers, helping to raise the standards of grassroots football across the UK and improving the grassroots experience for young, aspiring footballers.

In addition to the Fun Football sessions other key elements include the Grassroots Football Awards, Small-Sided Games and a series of Community Football Days being arranged in locations throughout Northern Ireland and across the UK. McDonald’s Northern Ireland Football Ambassador and Spurs legend Pat Jennings said the tie-up was “great news” for young people across Northern Ireland. Irish FA Director of Sales and Marketing Simon Fitzpatrick added: “McDonald’s shares the Irish FA’s vision to promote, foster and develop football for all, so we are therefore delighted to be extending our partnership with the company for a further four years. “This investment will help boost participation at grassroots level and will help inspire young boys and girls to dream of wearing the green shirt of Northern Ireland. We look forward to working with McDonald’s on this fantastic project and I have no doubt that together we will hit the ambitious targets that have been set.” For further information on McDonald’s involvement in grassroots football and to find out how your club could benefit visit www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football or follow @FunFootballUK on Twitter and Instagram. Words Nigel Tilson

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McDONALD’S PEOPLE’S AWARD GOES TOWOMEN’S FOOTBALL CHAMPION JUNK

Elaine Junk won the prestigious People’s Award at this year’s McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards gala.

The People’s Award winner - it was decided by an online public vote - was rewarded for her work in developing girls and women’s football in Northern Ireland. Currently chair of Mid Ulster Ladies FC, the mum-of- two was the first woman elected on to the Mid Ulster Football Association and continues to represent and advocate for women’s football on the Irish Football Association’s Council. She is also a former chair of the Northern Ireland Women’s Football Association. The awards recognise the huge contribution to community football in Northern Ireland of clubs, coaches and volunteers. More than 180 guests were at Belfast City Hall to celebrate award winners across eight categories. Among the special guests were McDonald’s ambassadors Pat Jennings and Martin Keown as well as Julie Nelson, the first Northern Ireland senior women’s international to earn 100 caps.

The Volunteer of the Year accolade went to Phil McKinley, who has dedicated his time over many years to Lurgan Town in Co Armagh. Other winners on the night were: McDonald’s Football Mum of the Year - Sandra Bownes, for her work with Antrim Rovers; Inclusive Award - Neil Ardis, for his work with Valley Rangers Youth in Kilkeel and in setting up an autism football group and a girls’ team; Young Volunteer of the Year - Rebekah Irvine, applauded for her many roles with NFC Kesh in Co Fermanagh. Also: Accredited Club of the Year - Dungiven Celtic FC (strong youth structure and placing community and family at its core); McDonald’s Football Restaurant of the Year - John McCollum, franchisee at McDonald’s Sprucefield, partnership with Hillsborough Boys FC; Wes Gregg Coach of the Year - Corey Wilson of Braniel FC for his wide-ranging involvement with the east Belfast club. Words Nigel Tilson

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Words Liam Blackburn

Foda, who was born in Germany, was chosen to succeed Marcel Koller in October 2017 when the Swiss resigned after six years in charge following the nation's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The 52-year-old left his second permanent spell with Sturm Graz to take charge of the national team, with the Austrian club at the top of the table when his appointment was announced. In his previous stint with Graz, Foda led the club to the Austrian Bundesliga title in 2011 having won the domestic cup the season before. "He is someone who holds good qualifications. He knows Austrian football as a player and a coach," Austrian Football Association president Leo Windtner said upon Foda's hiring. Foda has a contract until the end of 2019 but has the incentive of having that deal extended if Austria can follow up their appearance at Euro 2016 by making the finals again in 2020. His first match in charge was actually a friendly last November against Uruguay - when he was still at the helm of Graz as well - and he left veteran striker Marc Janko out of his first squad. Janko was the top scorer under previous coach Koller but, now 35, he has featured for just 19 minutes under Foda, who selected Marko Arnautovic and Guido Burgstaller together in attack against Northern Ireland in Vienna last month. In the absence of Julian Baumgartlinger and David Alaba, Foda also handed Arnautovic the captain's armband in that fixture and saw his chosen skipper score the only goal. That was an important win for the Austrians who, like Northern Ireland, had lost their opening Nations AUSTRIA THE COACH Having officially started work on New Year's Day in 2018, Franco Foda has already led Austria to victories over Uruguay, Russia, Germany, Sweden and Northern Ireland.

League fixture to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prior to that their form under Foda had been impressive. That 2-1 success over Uruguay in his first game at the helm - delivered by substitute Louis Schaub's late winner - was their third in a run of seven successive victories. Perhaps the most impressive of all was in June when they came from behind to beat Joachim Low's Germany in one of their World Cup warm-up friendlies. However, they entered this international break needing to rediscover their consistency having lost three of their past five games, scoring just three times. » » Franco Foda is the first German to manage the Austrian national team. As a player he won two caps for West Germany in 1987. » » The Austrian Football Association (Österreichischer Fußball-Bund – ÖFB) considered hiring Foda in 2011 when they gave the job to Marcel Koller. Foda impressed by winning the Austrian Cup in 2010 with Sturm Graz and the league the following year. » » As a player Foda spent the majority of his career in his native Germany with the likes of Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart. » » His son, Sandro Foda, now 28, played under him while he was in charge at Sturm Graz between 2007 and 2012.

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AUSTRIA SQUAD

Words Liam Blackburn

GOALKEEPERS

HEINZ LINDNER GRASSHOPPER ZURICH

CICAN STANKOVIC RED BULL SALZBURG

RICHARD STREBINGER RAPID VIENNA

Age Caps

28 22

Age Caps 0 Goals 0

26

Age Caps 1 Goals 0

25

Goals 0

Lindner is currently Austria's first choice having previously been behind Ramazan Ozcan and Robert Almer in the pecking order. He made his international debut back in 2012 and is now back playing regular first team football in Switzerland after a frustrating spell with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Yet to win his first senior cap but has been an unused substitute on four occasions. The Bosnia and Herzegovina-born stopper has won the Austrian Bundesliga in each of his three seasons with Salzburg, though this is the first campaign in which Stankovic has played more than nine league games for the club.

Strebinger made his international bow just last month in a 2-0 loss to Denmark; he played all 90 minutes in the friendly. The goalkeeper began his career in Germany, featuring for Hertha Berlin and Werder Bremen, before joining Rapid Vienna, for whom he has been first choice since 2015.

DEFENDERS

ALEKSANDAR DRAGOVIC BAYER LEVERKUSEN

MARTIN HINTEREGGER AUGSBURG

STEFAN LAINER RED BULL SALZBURG

Age Caps

27 68

Age Caps

26 35

Age Caps

26 10

Goals 1

Goals 3

Goals 0

Vastly-experienced defender who spent the previous campaign on a season-long loan with Leicester, where he made just seven league starts. Made his Austria debut nine years ago and was sent off in Austria's opening game of Euro 2016 against Hungary for two yellow cards.

Of his three goals for his country, one came at the Aviva Stadium against the Republic of Ireland in June 2017, and another came in a 2-1 friendly win over then world champions Germany a year later. A four-time league champion in his native country with Salzburg, Hinteregger has been at German side Augsburg since 2016.

Lainer's international debut came in a friendly against Finland in March 2017 when he came on as a second half substitute in a 1-1 draw. Played all 90 minutes in the win over Northern Ireland last month. The full- back's father, Leo Lainer, was an Austrian international who also played for Salzburg.

ANDREAS ULMER RED BULL SALZBURG

KEVIN WIMMER HANNOVER

DAVID ALABA BAYERN MUNICH

Age Caps 8 Goals 0

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Age Caps 9 Goals 0

26

Age Caps 65 Goals 13 26

Long-serving Salzburg defender who has been with the defending Austrian champions since 2009. He has won eight league titles during that time and five domestic cups. His international debut came in 2009 but he has appeared just eight times for his country in total.

Wimmer will be familiar to fans of English football from his spells with Tottenham and Stoke. His most recent appearance for Stoke in the Premier League was in January against Manchester United, and he has been on loan with Hannover since June. Made his senior Austria debut in 2013.

Austria's star player was not involved against Northern Ireland in Vienna due to injury. A regular for European giants Bayern Munich, Alaba can play at left-back or in midfield. The seven-time Bundesliga champion became the youngest player to ever feature for his country in a 2009 friendly against France.

MIDFIELDERS

JULIAN BAUMGARTLINGER BAYER LEVERKUSEN

STEFAN ILSANKER RB LEIPZIG

FLORIAN KAINZ WERDER BREMEN

Age Caps

30 64

Age Caps

29 33

Age Caps

26 12

Goals 1

Goals 0

Goals 0

Kainz was an Austria Under-19 and Under-21 international who first appeared for the senior team in November 2015. Won the 2010-11 Austrian title with Sturm Graz, his local club, before moving to Rapid Vienna and then Werder Bremen in Germany in the summer of 2016.

One of Austria's most experienced players has spent the majority of his career in Germany, bar a two-year spell with Austria Vienna. Won his first cap in 2009 and played all 90 minutes in each of his country's three games at Euro 2016. His only international goal came in a 2014 friendly win over Czech Republic.

Another of those who featured at the last Euros for Austria, central midfielder Ilsanker started against both Iceland and Portugal in France but was withdrawn on both occasions. He is yet to score for his country and has not scored a league goal for his club since December 2015 either.

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MIDFIELDERS

FORWARDS

KONRAD LAIMER RB LEIPZIG

VALENTINO LAZARO HERTHA BERLIN

MARKO ARNAUTOVIC WEST HAM UNITED

Age Caps 0 Goals 0

21

Age Caps

22 17

Age Caps 75 Goals 20 29

Goals 0

One of the youngest members of the Austrian squad, Laimer is yet to appear for the senior team but has been an unused substitute on four occasions. A regular for the Under-17s, Under-19s, Under-20s and Under-21s, Laimer is already a three-time league and cup winner with previous club Salzburg.

Versatile midfielder Lazaro is viewed as one of Austria's brightest talents and can be deployed on the left wing, right wing or through the middle. He made his Salzburg debut aged just 16 - becoming their youngest ever player - and had played over 100 games while still in his teens.

It was Arnautovic's goal in Vienna last month against Michael O'Neill's men that proved to be the difference between the two sides. With 75 caps, the West Ham forward is the most experienced player in this Austrian squad. Andreas Herzog, Austria's most capped player, called him the country's best player for 30 years when he first broke through.

XAVER SCHLAGER RED BULL SALZBURG

THOMAS GOIGINGER LASK LINZ

GUIDO BURGSTALLER SCHALKE

Age Caps 6 Goals 0

21

Age Caps

29 23

Age Caps 0 Goals 0

25

Goals 1

Another of the large Salzburg contingent in this Austria squad, Schalger's six caps have all been won in friendlies so far. He played in two of his country's Under-21 qualifiers in their Euro 2019 campaign, scoring a second half brace in the 5-0 win over Armenia in October 2017.

Schalke striker Burgstaller spent a brief spell with Cardiff when they were a Championship club but he only made three appearances before having his contract terminated by mutual consent in January 2015. He first appeared for Austria's senior team in 2012 and his only goal came in October 2017.

Goiginger has been called up to the Austrian senior squad for the first time during this international break. He joined LASK in his home town of Linz in the summer of 2017. Prior to that he worked his way up the leagues in Austria. His previous clubs include Union Vocklamarkt, TSV Neumarkt, SV Grodig and FC Blau-Weiss Linz.

LOUIS SCHAUB FC KOLN

ALESSANDRO SCHOPF SCHALKE

MICHAEL GREGORITSCH AUGSBURG

Age Caps

23 11

Age Caps

24 21

Age Caps 9 Goals 1

24

Goals 5

Goals 4

Born in Germany, Schaub represented Austria at various youth age groups. He has had no trouble with senior international football having scored three times in the qualifiers for the most recent World Cup. All of those came in the space of two months against Georgia, Serbia and Moldova.

Schopf plays for last year's German Bundesliga runners-ups Schalke and he signed a new contract in February. The midfielder was part of Bayern Munich's youth team but never appeared for the Bavarian club's senior side. Has scored twice for his country in 2018 already.

Gregoritsch became the youngest scorer in the history of the Austrian Bundesliga when he found the net three days before his 16th birthday in 2010. His father, Werner, was his manager that day and is the current coach of Austria's Under-21s. Scored 13 goals for German club Augsburg last year.

PETER ZULJ STURM GRAZ

Age Caps 8 Goals 0

25

Started both of Austria's first two UEFA Nations League fixtures having lined up in central midfield against Northern Ireland at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, and it was Zulj who provided the assist for the game's only goal. His international bow only came in March but he has been a regular since.

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